Paper Passion! An Earth Day Art Celebration 2010
April 03, 2010
Objective:
Celebration of Earth Day
PRESS RELEASE: Monday, February 08, 2010
Contact: Lawrence Rodriguez, Curator and Director, Casa Frela Gallery
47 West 119th Street, New York, NY 10026
212.722.8577
events@casafrela.com/www.casafrela.com
Curator Lawrence Rodriguez has put together another cultural arts event not to be missed! Casa Frela Gallery and African-American handmade paper artists Katrina Jeffries and Celeste Morris present “Paper Passion!-- An Earth Day Art Celebration 2010” from April 3 to 24. Through inspiring and distinctive works of art, Jeffries and Morris will explore the environmental potential of hand made paper, an Ancient Egyptian art form. Art enthusiasts and the ecologically conscious, alike, will enjoy the two and three dimensional art creations made from substances which were once plant fibers, wasp nests, and other unique found and natural materials.
Meet the artists at the opening reception on Saturday, April 3 from 4-8 p.m. at Harlem’s Casa Frela, a space where you will be embraced by the energetic paper passion of the artists and the warm spirit-filled setting of the gallery located at 47 West 119th Street (between Lenox and Fifth Avenues). The Earth Day Arts Celebration continues through April 24 from 12 to 4 p.m. daily with a very special free artists’ talk on Sunday, April 18 at 3 p.m., during which the artists will demonstrate paper making and attendees can try their hand at their own creative paper designs.
Always aware of her African-American heritage, Katrina Jeffries has researched the cultures of the African Diaspora and the history of the Slave Trade and the Middle Passage. Her series of pieces called PAPER/STICK will feature drawings based on the barkcloth decorations of the M'buti peoples of the Congo and reminiscent of the work mostly done by African women, Jeffries has created her own abstract graphic "language” and incorporated the sticks as a comment on paper made from wood. She regards the sacred and ceremonial uses of decorated sticks as a meditative commentary on ancient events that have been preserved in the art works. Art goers will be further intrigued by Jeffries’ unusual explorations with paper layered grids.
Jeffries studied costuming, lighting and art history and earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Ohio State University with a major in Design for the Theatre. She is also versed in ceramics, glass blowing, anatomy, figure drawing, painting, lettering, and color concepts. After relocating to New York City, Jeffries established the MAWU Ceramic Studio and the “Cowrie Collection,” a line of African-motif dinnerware. She has headed wardrobe departments and worked on productions for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre and various Broadway plays. She studied paper making at Dieu Donne Papermill in Manhattan and presently makes paper in a private studio in Brooklyn. Jeffries, who has displayed nationally with work also featured on the television show “One Life to Live,” is on the Board of Directors of Composers Collaborative, and is a member of the Harlem Arts Alliance and SONYA (South of the Navy Yard Artists).
Artist Celeste Morris, whose heritage flows from a long line of creative and hardworking African-Caribbean ancestors, will be presenting several pieces entitled “GIFTS TO ROYALTY” which combines hand made paper, adorned with metallic paints, and African trinkets which she creates in her Bottom House Studio in Brooklyn. Her other three dimensional works will expertly showcase her well developed skill in collages and castings in the geometric asymmetry of paper’s potential. Many of Morris’ themes involve the depiction of the bold spirit of women and a sense of spirituality.
Well known in the world of business and politics, Morris holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Consumer Studies from Brooklyn College and has studied paper making at the Dieu Donne Papermill in Manhattan and at the Women’s Studio Workshop in Rosendale,, NY. Her work has been exhibited and sold by private collectors at the Clinton Hill Simply Art Gallery and the Parlor Gallery in Brooklyn, the Ellis Chambers Gallery in Georgia and at various private shows throughout the country. In addition to her distinctive collages and castings, she also designs hand made paper invitations and sculptures for special occasions including weddings and award programs.
Ancient Egyptians invented the first substance like the paper we know today called Papyrus. Papyrus scrolls were made by flattening then pounding the inner part of the papyrus stem into a hard, thin sheet. The word "paper" comes from the word "papyrus." The Paper that we know today was invented by Ts'ai Lun in A.D. 105. It is believed that he mixed hemp, mulberry bark, and rags with water, mashed it into a pulp, pressed out the liquid and hung it to dry in the sun. Paper was born and this humble mixture would set off one of mankind's greatest communication revolutions. Today, handmade paper is a wonderful way of recycling waste into beautiful possibilities.
Make the 40th anniversary of Earth Day a historic event on your calendar by joining Jeffries and Morris at the Casa Frela Gallery, 47 West 119th Street (between Lenox and Fifth Avenues) in Manhattan, New York from April 3-24, 2010 for their paper evolution showcase and demonstration.
For further information about “Paper Passion!--An Earth Day Art Celebration 2010” or about Casa Frela Gallery, please visit www.casafrela.com or call the gallery at 212-722-8577, or contact Katrina Jeffries at maustudio@aol.com or Celeste Morris at inbox4celeste@gmail.com
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Casafrela
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