Jundo
09-03-2018, 01:37 AM
Dear All,
I would like to introduce to those who don't know her Anne Cooper (she also goes by the name 'Cooperix' at Treeleaf) as an 'Artist in Residence' and guide for our Treeleaf Art Circle. She will be helping Richard Herman, our other 'A in R' and guide for the circle (Richard is very busy preparing for some upcoming shows and publications, so could use some help too).
Let me tell you a bit more about Anne and show you some of her work ... Please check out her website, you will find some examples of her creations, past and present, there. ...
http://annecooperstudio.com/
I study beauty in the microcosm of our world, thus celebrating the mundane.
Clay brought me into the world of object making over 45 years ago. For the first 10 years I was a production potter in Houston, and when I found that to be too restrictive I enrolled in the MFA program at the University of Houston, received my degree in 1984 in ceramics and sculpture.
After receiving my degree, I moved to New Mexico where I currently live. Opening doors never imagined over the next 10 years, I learned skills in woodworking, metalsmithing, casting, welding, paper making, beeswax, to name a few. By the 90s I was working in multiple forms, using either 9 (ix) or 14 (xiv) repeated shapes in each piece.
An effort to save a piece of property from development to preserve it as open space led me in a new direction. I began working in installation format using growing grasses, images of seeds, and grasses.
My current work is a complete departure from my past artistic endeavors.
One project in recent recent years was her Rakusu project ...
http://www.annecooperstudio.com/images/rakusu-installation-1.jpg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9B64y9t-tE&t=19s
Her installation first created a bit of a stir among some Zen Teachers in America who did not understand what she was doing, and thought she was just making paper Rakusus, not knowing that it was an art project! She described it this way ...
Feel of the Needle: The Rakusu Project
The Rakusu Project was inspired by the traditional Buddhist Rakusu, a cloth garment hand-sewn by Zen students prior to their Jukai ceremony. The objects I make are fashioned from paper, hand sewn, and each illustrated with one of Santoka Taneda's haiku (mendicant monk, Japan, 1882 - 1940). I made the facsimile rakasus as part of an ongoing performance installation.
The installation ceremony consists of several performers. Lynda Miller lifts each rakusu from its resting place and drapes it over the neck of Lynn Miller, who recites the accompanying haiku. Lynn then stands silently for several seconds. Lynda removes the rakusu from Lynn's neck and hands it to Bev Magennis. Both bow during the exchange. Bev hands the rakusu to me to install in the gallery. The ceremony includes 21 facsimile rakusus and Taneda's haikus. Once the last one is installed in the gallery, all of us gather for a final bow, haiku, and sake toast to Santoka Taneda.
–Feel of the needle when at last you get the thread through it. S T
Thank you, Anne, for adding your energies here to further dialogue and discussion about art and creativity.
Anne and Richard also mentioned that they would like to see, not just visual artists around here, but musicians and writers doing their thing through our Art Circle as well. Lovely.
Gassho, Jundo
SatTodayLAH
I would like to introduce to those who don't know her Anne Cooper (she also goes by the name 'Cooperix' at Treeleaf) as an 'Artist in Residence' and guide for our Treeleaf Art Circle. She will be helping Richard Herman, our other 'A in R' and guide for the circle (Richard is very busy preparing for some upcoming shows and publications, so could use some help too).
Let me tell you a bit more about Anne and show you some of her work ... Please check out her website, you will find some examples of her creations, past and present, there. ...
http://annecooperstudio.com/
I study beauty in the microcosm of our world, thus celebrating the mundane.
Clay brought me into the world of object making over 45 years ago. For the first 10 years I was a production potter in Houston, and when I found that to be too restrictive I enrolled in the MFA program at the University of Houston, received my degree in 1984 in ceramics and sculpture.
After receiving my degree, I moved to New Mexico where I currently live. Opening doors never imagined over the next 10 years, I learned skills in woodworking, metalsmithing, casting, welding, paper making, beeswax, to name a few. By the 90s I was working in multiple forms, using either 9 (ix) or 14 (xiv) repeated shapes in each piece.
An effort to save a piece of property from development to preserve it as open space led me in a new direction. I began working in installation format using growing grasses, images of seeds, and grasses.
My current work is a complete departure from my past artistic endeavors.
One project in recent recent years was her Rakusu project ...
http://www.annecooperstudio.com/images/rakusu-installation-1.jpg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9B64y9t-tE&t=19s
Her installation first created a bit of a stir among some Zen Teachers in America who did not understand what she was doing, and thought she was just making paper Rakusus, not knowing that it was an art project! She described it this way ...
Feel of the Needle: The Rakusu Project
The Rakusu Project was inspired by the traditional Buddhist Rakusu, a cloth garment hand-sewn by Zen students prior to their Jukai ceremony. The objects I make are fashioned from paper, hand sewn, and each illustrated with one of Santoka Taneda's haiku (mendicant monk, Japan, 1882 - 1940). I made the facsimile rakasus as part of an ongoing performance installation.
The installation ceremony consists of several performers. Lynda Miller lifts each rakusu from its resting place and drapes it over the neck of Lynn Miller, who recites the accompanying haiku. Lynn then stands silently for several seconds. Lynda removes the rakusu from Lynn's neck and hands it to Bev Magennis. Both bow during the exchange. Bev hands the rakusu to me to install in the gallery. The ceremony includes 21 facsimile rakusus and Taneda's haikus. Once the last one is installed in the gallery, all of us gather for a final bow, haiku, and sake toast to Santoka Taneda.
–Feel of the needle when at last you get the thread through it. S T
Thank you, Anne, for adding your energies here to further dialogue and discussion about art and creativity.
Anne and Richard also mentioned that they would like to see, not just visual artists around here, but musicians and writers doing their thing through our Art Circle as well. Lovely.
Gassho, Jundo
SatTodayLAH