My friend the very accomplished hooker......

Article from Hand/Eye

Article from Hand/Eye Magazine:"It's not what you think: Leslie Giuliani hooks rugs with a contemporary folk feel.One of the best things about being a rug hooker is telling people you are a “Hooker.” You get a laugh every time. I have been hooking for about 20 years now, having learned the craft in a continuing education class at a local high school. I have knit and sewn my whole life, and have a BFA in painting. Pictoral rug hooking brings my worlds of “art” and “craft” together. Although I have hooked many rugs for the floor, I enjoy making pictoral pieces for the wall. Changing the context from utility to decorative arts allows viewers to take their time and look at the image at eye level, to get to see the nuances of the craft more closely. traditional craft of rug hooking creates rugs by simply pulling loops of yarn or cut strips of fabric through a stiff woven base material such as burlap, linen, or rug warp. You only have to master one stitch: very simple. The backing is stretched over a frame or is hooped to maintain a tight, flat working area. The rug is worked in sections by re-stretching the backing to expose the next working area. The loops are pulled through the backing material using a crochet-type hook mounted in a handle (usually wood) for leverage. All loops and strip ends are pulled to the top side to keep the underside free from snags and to allow it to be durable, since rugs are meant to be walked on. It’s the sheer density of the loops that keeps the rug together." You can read the rest of this article when you click on the link. Congratulations Leslie!It's not what you think: Leslie Giuliani hooks rugs with a contemporary folk feel.One of the best thingsabout being a rug hookeare a “Hooker.” You get a laugh every time. I have been hooking for about 20 years now, having learned the craft in a continuing education class at a local high school. I have knit and sewn my whole life, and have a BFA in painting. Pictoral rug hooking brings my worlds of “art” and “craft” together. Although I have hooked many rugs for the floor, I enjoy making pictoral pieces for the wall. Changing the context from utility to decorative arts allows viewers to take their time and look at the image at eye level, to get to see the nuances of the craft more closely. traditional craft of rug hooking creates rugs by simply pulling loops of yarn or cut strips of fabric through a stiff woven base material such as burlap, linen, or rug warp. You only have to master one stitch: very simple. The backing is stretched over a frame or is hooped to maintain a tight, flat working area. The rug is worked in sections by re-stretching the backing to expose the next working area. The loops are pulled through the backing material using a crochet-type hook mounted in a handle (usually wood) for leverage. All loops and strip ends are pulled to the top side to keep the underside free from snags and to allow it to be durable, since rugs are meant to be walked on. It’s the sheer density of the loops that keeps the rug together." You can read the rest of this article when yArticle from Hand/Eye Magazine:"It's not what you think: Leslie Giuliani hooks rugs with a contemporary folk feel.One of the best things about being a rug hooker is telling people you are a “Hooker.” You get a laugh every time. I have been hooking for about 20 years now, having learned the craft in a continuing education class at a local high school. I have knit and sewn my whole life, and have a BFA in painting. Pictoral rug hooking brings my worlds of “art” and “craft” together. Although I have hooked many rugs for the floor, I enjoy making pictoral pieces for the wall. Changing the context from utility to decorative arts allows viewers to take their time and look at the image at eye level, to get to see the nuances of the craft more closely. traditional craft of rug hooking creates rugs by simply pulling loops of yarn or cut strips of fabric through a stiff woven base material such as burlap, linen, or rug warp. You only have to master one stitch: very simple. The backing is stretched over a frame or is hooped to maintain a tight, flat working area. The rug is worked in sections by re-stretching the backing to expose the next working area. The loops are pulled through the backing material using a crochet-type hook mounted in a handle (usually wood) for leverage. All loops and strip ends are pulled to the top side to keep the underside free from snags and to allow it to be durable, since rugs are meant to be walked on. It’s the sheer density of the loops that keeps the rug together." You can read the rest of this article when you click on the link. Congratulations Leslie!Article from Hand/Eye Magazine:"It's not what you think: Leslie Giuliani hooks rugs with a contemporary folk feel.One of the best things about being a rug hooker is telling people you are a “Hooker.” You get a laugh every time. I have been hooking for about 20 years now, having learned the craft in a continuing education class at a local high school. I have knit and sewn my whole life, and have a BFA in painting. Pictoral rug hooking brings my worlds of “art” and “craft” together. Although I have hooked many rugs for the floor, I enjoy making pictoral pieces for the wall. Changing the context from utility to decorative arts allows viewers to take their time and look at the image t eye level, to get to see the nuances of the craft more closely. The traditional craft of rug hooking creates rugs by simply pulling loops of yarn or cut strips of fabric through a stiff woven base material such as burlap, linen, or rug warp. You only have to master one stitch: very simple. The backing is stretched over a frame or is hooped to maintain a tight, flat working area. The rug is worked in sections by re-stretching the backing to expose the next working area. The loops are pulled through the backing material using a crochet-type hook mounted in a handle (usually wood) for leverage. All loops and strip ends are pulled to the top side to keep the underside free from snags and to allow it to be durable, since rugs are meant to be walked on. It’s the sheer density of the loops that keeps the rug together." You can read the rest of this article when you click on the link. Congratulations Leslie!

From Intuit, a new and very important exhibition

The Treasure of Ulysses Davis

February 12, 2010 - May 15, 2010
Opening Reception: Friday, February 12, 5-8pm

The Treasure of Ulysses Davis debuted at the High Museum in Atlanta and traveled to the American Folk Art Museum in New York and the Menello Museum of Art in Florida, before arriving in Chicago. Organized by Susan Crawley of the High Museum of Art in collaboration with the King-Tisdell Cottage Foundation of Savannah, Georgia, this retrospective features about 109 pieces, including 78 from the King-Tisdell Cottage Foundation, which acquired most of Davis’s work after he died, fulfilling his desire to keep his corpus intact. The title comes from Davis’s explanation of why he disliked parting with his work: “They’re my treasure. If I sold these, I’d be really poor." The exhibition will increase public knowledge of and appreciation for the work of this much admired but rarely seen sculptor.

Laura N. James, praying out loud

With an Antiguan heritage and a love for detail and storytelling, in the year 2000, Laura N. James made a spectacular group of paintings for a Book of Gospels , for the Roman Catholic Church. There is a diverse cast of characters represented, of all shades and nationalities, and the artwork is gorgeous! But this young New Yorker also paints Jazz figures which seduce the eye with their colors and movement, and her series, "Nannies and Other Mothers" grabs at your heart. Women who leave their own families far behind to come to the United States to care for the children of others is a powerful and often neglected subject. She handles it with a grace and compassion for all involved and the paintings are luscious.

Life, Liberty & The Pursuit of Happiness......AVAM

Pedro Martin DeClet has come a very long way since his stint as head of the Latin Kings gang in the CT prison system. His works are now on display in the American Visionary Art Museum's newest show, Life, Liberty & The Pursuit of Happiness, curated by Roger Manley. Declet's Portrait de Genocide honors past martyrs in both the American Indian and Hispanic culture and is a powerful work with it's bleeding pictograph placed center stage. In another room is a hand-made book filled with paintings and paperwork which reflect his disavowal of the infamous gang, along with an altered book, a cross sculpture and a canvas carrying bag sporting a self-portrait. There is also a construction called El Philosopher which is made up of a time clock together with time cards hand painted by the artist. Pedro Martin DeClet is a man who does not look back, but rather reflects on a positive future. I thank Roger Manley for having an open mind and including these important works in his stellar show. It will run for close to a year and is worth the visit to the Inner Harbor of Baltimore, where the AVAM sits like a dazzling crowning jewel.
Photos courtesy of Roger Manley, curator

American Visionary Art Museum, 2009

I would like to thank Roger Manley for the unparalleled job he did in curating the newest show at the AVAM in Baltimore. He went out of his way to include artists not always seen, to make this show fresh and very alive. From my gallery he choose five works by Pedro Martin DeClet, former head of the Latin Kings gang in the CT prison system, whose works deal with freedom on a very primal level. He also picked a lovely painting of a Jazz Funeral by Gerald Thornton, who was able to attend the opening with four generations of his family.

Roger included many works created by Dr. Ala Bashir, who is represented by Corvus Art Gallery, (Lesley Roy). Dr. Bashir was Saddam Hussein's personal physician and a world known plastic surgeon, who also is a world class painter and sculptor. His goal in life has always been to heal both body and spirit and his works are superb. Thank you Roger, for thinking out of the box and bringing all of this important work to a new audience. The art is hung beautifully and shown to it's best advantage. I hope you all have an opportunity to see this brilliant show.
Images included are two extraordinary paintings by Dr. Ala Bashir.