Summer Dreams 1997

Paper Exhibition held at

Works included framed paper art, lamps, books and paper quilts. All works made from either recycled archival mount board or from plant fibre paper

Artists Statement

I love working with paper, it is such a versatile medium. It can be cast, manipulated, sewn and painted with. It can be used for books, lamps, sculptures and wall art as well as being for writing on. There have been many things I have explored with paper, but my favorites would have to be pulp painting and making delicate but strong plant fibre papers which I colour brightly and use for quilts and lamps. My inspiration comes from the Australian bush and from the paper itself. My favorite play place when I was growing up was a bush gully at the back of our house and the love of the bush has stayed with me since then.

Profile

I have been making paper since 1984 and have been teaching with CAE and other groups since 1991. My interest began as a hobby but has expanded to a way of life. My first contact with paper artists was in 1987 at the first Australian Paper Conference that was held in Hobart in May of that year. Until that time I had been making cards from recycled paper and selling them through several craft shops around Melbourne. At this conference the papermakers from Melbourne met and soon after Papermakers of Victoria was begun. I have been on the committee since the group was formed in 1989 and have exhibited in each of the group shows since then, approximately one per year. I have also exhibited in other shows including CAE Tutors and Students shows at the Moore Gallery, Wesley College Art and Craft shows, Woodworkers Annual Exhibitions and several Meat Market Group Shows. "Summer Dreams" is my first solo exhibition.

Review

Summer Dreams

Gail Stiffe
Maenad Art
1-26 July 1997

MAENAD ART is in the middle of a small but active shopping centre, opposite Kensington station. A very good choice for "Summer Dreams", Gail Stiffe's first solo exhibition.
There was a wide range of work on view, from small books to more complex works to tempt the viewer, and the interest of the opening crowd was indicated by the number of red stickers popping up.
Gail’s main interests lie in pulp painting and in books, from the traditional to the more creative. Some stationery sets, and lamps made from plant fibre paper, were also on exhibition.
Of most interest to me were the books. I particularly liked the "Feral books" made from a combination of plant fibre paper and recycled papers. The plant fibre papers were thin and wispy with ragged edges and combined beautifully with the other papers, and formed a unit that was a delight to handle and look through.
There were also dream diaries, some from recycled paper, others from commercial paper and with a range of bindings. Miniature snake books, each with a single poem contained within and with very loose pulp painting designs on the cover, were of special interest to viewers.
Of the 2D works, my preference went to "Cbilders 2 and 3" and "Summer Breeze". Each of these pieces had a theme based on the sea and worked for me because of the lovely soft, subtle colours and their abstract quality.
"Summer Breeze" had overlapping triangular shapes suggestive of sail boats on the water and with hazy outlines as if in a mist, and in a blue-grey colour range .
"Childers 2" gave me feelings of a close up of a bit of beach with sand and stones.
This work had a photo subtly included as an element of detail amongst the loose abstract shapes of the pulp painting.
"Childers 3" was made up of horizontal bands of pulp painting, a textured or cast area and again with the inclusion of photos.
In general, I particularly liked how the idea of summer and dreams had been incorporated into most of the works in the exhibition.
I congratulate Gail on the variety and quality of this exhibition.

Marianne Little

Reproduced with permission of the author. This review first appeared in the newsletter of Papermakers of Victoria Inc. Volume 9 number 5 October 1997.