Sarah Haskell – Exhibit Information

Unhinged #1

2015, 40” by 48”, Hand-dyed, brocade woven linen and rayon. Buttons, beads.

This piece is the second in a series that began after the loss of my beloved brother. His death tipped me over, spun me around and completely unhinged me. My way out of this darkness was to make art, to follow the bread crumbs of familiar patterns, colors and imagery. But as I worked I found that the familiar and comforting, was slipping away – was tilted, askew and untethered.

In the beginning I put my brother in a golden house, a shelter, or perhaps a tomb, as a way to keep him safe, to give him refuge. And yet, this house which had long been my symbol for safety and security began to list and to slip away from Earth – to become unhinged. Unable to do so at the time of his death, I became the house, longing to wrap my arms around his body, to keep him out of harm’s way. But as the reality sunk in, I became unhinged, aching to hold him safely as he drifted farther and farther away.

Not only is the house ungrounded in this piece and floating in space – but the body has become a negative space – a place where a body once was. All that was familiar had been cut loose, vanished. What was once known was now transformed.

Over several months I continued this story thread with two more pieces: Unhinged #2 and Unhinged #3. Eventually the body became released from the shelter of the house, soaring into the ether of heavenly blue – a symbolic letting go, of merging with the stars and other heavenly bodies.

Words about the technique –

The curve of the Earth and the house are woven in a brocade/modified tapestry technique with a rayon weft. This process requires two warps on the loom, both of which are hand-dyed prior to weaving. The rayon weft is inlayed on the surface of the indigo blue linen. Small antique buttons reference stars and a bigger Universe.

Unhinged #2

Hand-dyed brocade woven line, rayon, hands-on paper, buttons, beads. 40” by 48” 2015

In this second piece of the Unhinged series, the house has drifted further from Earth, deeper into space, tipping and tilting.

The body has begun to disconnect from the security of the house – caught only by the ankle of one foot. Here the body is an outline similar to that found at a crime scene – a dotted outline – a place where a body once as.

The body outline is made of hand spun Shifu paper and couched on to the surface of the linen.

Tumbling out of the hand are antique buttons and tiny beads referencing stars.

Unhinged #3

Hand-dyed brocade woven linen, rayon, spun paper, buttons, beads. 40” by 48” 2016

Like a witness to a slow moving story, I envisioned the “Unhinged” series one piece at a time. In “Unhinged #3” the body and the house have almost separated and there is a feeling of letting go or release.

The subtle gradations of blues in the background cloth are accomplished by a thread by thread mindful transition of my precisely hand-dyed linens. I favor a sparse imagery that highlights the simplicity of this background, plain weave cloth.

The body is no longer a dotted outline, but a vibrant, red Shifu thread. The physical gesture here feels more fluid – almost as if this letting go is filled with trust and a willingness to live in uncertainty.

“Secrets of the Infinite”

28” by 90, ”2017

“Secrets of the Infinite” is composed of six indigo dyed handwoven panels hung side by side. My original intention was to create 6 separate small pieces, but in the process of working on them I hung the panels side by side like pages from a sketch book. I quickly saw that the straight line created by the common horizon, running across the width of all six panels, was visually compelling. So the separate units became one piece, one story that moves from beginning to end.

The subtle gradations from the bottom to top of each panel are made from a careful progression of the indigo dyed weft. Four of the panels (#1, #3, #4 and #6) have a human figure – either embroidered, brocaded or couched onto the linen ground fabric. This silhouette is the same body that was used in “What You Will” and “Unhinged #1”. In those two previous pieces the body is reclining as in corpse pose – whereas here it is vertical and quite alive.

Each of the panels with a figure are like short poems. I try not to over analyze them – but I can offer a few personal observations. I make an overall note that the physical body is a temporary home for the human spirit and that some cultures believe that the raven is a metaphor for the spirit. As migratory creatures, birds are often seen as messengers for change.

Panel #1 illustrates a deep and inner connection between the bird and the human figure. Panel #3 shows the figure nurturing the bird, showering it (with love). In panel #4 the bird has expired and the figure wails in deep grief. And in panel #6 the figure is showering an egg while the raven returns to singing praises as in the first panel. Perhaps this is the circle of life.

Panels #2 and 5 are simply a blue ground cloth. These seemingly empty panels represent a point of rest or contemplation. I believe that creativity begins in the stillness – this place of infinite possibility that extends beyond the horizon.

To me “Secrets of the Infinite” explores the thread of life – the natural changes from birth to death that we experience both physically and spiritually.

Hold Me Like A Mother: Blue

(Stone Cozies) 2022-3. Found Maine beach stones encased in hand crocheted, indigo dyed linen.

Dimensions are variable and stones can be rearranged or mixed with other colored, crochet covered stones. Stones can rest on a pedestal, the floor or a table surface.

As weeks of uncertainty have rolled into months of living with political unrest, Covid and climate insecurity, I find myself in need of an anchor – something to ground my unsteady nerves. At first I took small natural objects such as a mushroom, a pinecone or a shell and I crocheted a little nest or cozy to hold it safe, calling this series “Oh Precious One.” Then I began to do the same for stones I would gather from Maine’s shoreline.

I bound these stones in a soft covering, held securely as a mother might swaddle her baby. There was something about the solid weight of these tightly wrapped stones that slowly began to ground me, giving me the perception of safety and security. So I have kept making them.

Stone upon stone, these rocks in little cozies multiplied. I have photographed them in different groupings, suggestive of partners, families, tribes or collectives. I have also arranged them in random piles, spirals and straight lines. Each grouping lends itself to an interesting variety of repeating patterns of color, shape and texture. Ultimately, whether solo or in clusters, these stone cozies have the gravitas I need to settle my unease.

“Praise for Life – Kaddish”

January 2004 – April 2005

This series is based on a poetic response to the traditional Aramaic memorial prayer spoken in the home and synagogue. This poem was written by Reverend MARK BELLETINI of Columbus, Ohio.

Each of the nine pieces is inspired by a line or phrase from the poem. Each piece has the complete poem written over and over on kozo paper. This paper has been folded and woven into the linen cloth.

“PRAISE FOR LIFE”

By Mark Belletini

Praise for Life.

Praise for all the senses of the body

reaching out and plucking the universe like an autumn apple.

Praise for the dream of justice here upon the earth,

equity and well being for the whole of humanity.

May our children’s children harvest the dreams

we plant in our brief lives.

Praise for Life.

Praise though all of our philosophies and explanations

trickle through the fingers of our experience like water.

Praise for Life.

Praise for it though it is brief before the lives of stars,

and the lives of worlds,

and the lives of even the trees that shade us.

Praise for Life.

Praise for the sacred power of remembrance.

Praise for the sacred power of forgiveness and letting go.

Praise for Life, the beginning, the middle and the amen of this prayer.

MARK BELLETINI

“Praise for Life – Kaddish”

1. “Praise for Life” 2004 woven linen, rayon, paper

2. “Praise for the Senses” 2004 woven linen, rayon, pigments on cloth, paper

3. “Praise for the Dream of Justice” 2004 woven linen, rayon, photo on cloth, paper

4. “Harvest the Dreams” 2004 woven linen, rayon, paper

5. “Trickle through the fingers of our experience like water” 2004 woven linen, rayon, paper

6. “Praise for it though it is brief before the lives of stars, and the lives of worlds” 2005 woven linen, rayon, paper

7. “The lives of even the trees that shade us” 2005 woven linen, rayon, paper, pigments on cloth

8. “Praise for the sacred power of remembrance” 2005 woven linen, rayon, paper

9. “Praise for the sacred power of forgiveness and letting go” 2005 woven linen, rayon, paper

10. “Praise for Life, the beginning, the middle and the amen of this prayer” 2005 woven linen, rayon, photos on cloth

All works are hand-woven with hand-dyed linen, rayon and kozo paper. They are 16” x 16”, mounted on acid-free linen/foam core and framed in museum-quality custom built frames.

Enduring

Indigo and fiber reactive dyed, handwoven linen and cotton. Weathered, rusted, bleached, Boro stitched, embroidered.

48” by 30” 2019

As a textile artist I am conscious of working with materials that are subject to change from light, humidity, abrasion and temperature.

Each row of this piece has embroidered hand gestures for a letter. The top row is L, the second row is O, third is V and the fourth is E.

These embroidered letters were subjected to a variety of situations to see what would happen to the threads. These processes included: weather by nailing to a tree for 5 months, bleach, rust and burial in dirt.

This piece illustrates that LOVE truly does endure weather and time.

“Now: Letters by Hand” An illustrated Inner Life

18” by 330” (when unrolled) Antique linen squares, indigo-dyed, hand woven and embroidered linen, embroidery floss, maple dowels.

Project initiated in Tamil Nadu, India ~ January 2014.

Alphabet completed in Rabun Gap, GA, USA ~ November 2015

Mounted on handwoven linen, Monhegan island ~ September 2018

These 26 American Sign Language Alphabet letters are embroidered on antique linen squares and mounted on 9 yards of indigo dyed hand woven linen. This 22 month project used the ASL alphabet as a platform for inner reflection. The nine yard scroll is presented like a Torah, rolled onto two wooden dowels. One can view the entire alphabet or unroll a portion at a time to view sections. When unrolled the full scroll is 330” – but it can be displayed with only a small portion unrolled.

I used to travel quite often to teach and missed making art in my studio and weaving on my looms. Yearning for a more portable way to make art, I began to experiment with embroidery and to use alphabets as the foundation for a sequence of pieces. Embroidery allows me to work on my art out in the community – out of the house. As one who always to have her hands working, embroidery not only serve my creative impulses, but allows me to work beyond the studio in public places and natural spaces.

Just as young girls in 18th century America used alphabet samplers as a platform for learning, growth and creative expression, I, too, use textile arts to tell my story and mark my place in time. Thread by thread, weaving and embroidery move at the pace of my breath; supporting my desire to be more mindful of the present and sustaining my ability to make art that investigates collective longing and universal struggles. “Now: Letters by Hand” was conceived as a way to ground myself in each moment, to be aware of what is NOW.

Each alphabet letter not only illustrates one of the 26 letters of the American Sign Language (ASL) alphabet but also uses imagery to connect with what I perceived as in the moment, what is now. For example, the ASL gesture for Letter T, surrounded by snow flakes with sun rays shooting out from the hand, was stitched as the Winter Solstice approached. The ASL gesture for R, stitched in the early fall, has leaves swirling around a dragon fly.

In the fall of 2018, I arrived at the Hambidge Center in Rabun Gap, GA for a two week residency, with the goal to explore how I might present the whole alphabet. I laid out the alphabet, using

my notes and sketches to remind me of the alphabet sequencing. I quickly noticed that I was missing a letter – that somewhere during my trip in India I had skipped over letter F. And even more curious is that the ASL gesture for the missing Letter F is also a mudra (a mystic hand gesture) that signifies the connection between God/The Divine/Cosmic consciousness (the thumb) and Human Consciousness (the index finger). So there I was at the end of my alphabet – facing a connection between myself and cosmic consciousness.

While at Hambidge I discovered the books, writings and philosophies of the founders, Mary and Jay Hambidge. I was inspired by their drawings and writings about the Golden Ratio, Dynamic Symmetry and the “natural laws of proportion in growth.” I dove into Mary’s book “Apprentice in Creation, “ and eventually used the classic nautilus spiral within a square in my design for the Letter F. Coming full circle, I completed the alphabet.

My original idea was to simply pin each embroidery square on the wall, like a series of handkerchiefs. After two installations in this manner, I decided this alphabet needed a more cohesive and linear presentation. So in 2018 I wove 9 yards of indigo dyed linen and while on Monhegan Island on a residency, I mounted each letter onto this fabric. Eventually the whole long strip of cloth was attached to two large wooden dowels, so that piece could be viewed like a Torah scroll, rolled or unrolled.

This alphabet traveled with me to India, sailing up the coast of Maine, to my mother’s house while I cared for her, to an rustic off shore New England island retreat, on vacation in the Caribbean, to local cafes and right at home in my garden. Looking back at each embroidered square, I sink right back into the NOW of each letter, grounded in the spirit of being present.