The Artists of STITCH

Five New England artists have been selected to participate in STITCH: Joyce McDaniel, Bob Openheim, Kristine Osborne, Elif Soyer, Maxine Yalovitz-Blankenship.

Each artist in STITCH utilizes different materials and techniques to explore traditional methods of sewing in contemporary and conceptual ways. Joyce McDaniel combines steel, lead, handmade paper, and dress patterns to create stitched sculptural book forms. Her chosen materials emphasize extremes of both strength and fragility and are ideal conduits for her exploration of stereotypical female roles.

Bob Openheim uses the stitched line in his paintings as a means for communication between forms within each canvas. There is an implied diologue between the painted shapes he creates, and a cartoon-like playfulness in the landscape he creates.

Kristine Osborne creates shaped out of thin wire and covers them by stitching on materials such as dryer sheets and hand dyed silk, then builds elaborate mobiles from the varied geometric shapes.

Elif Soyer gives life to old socks and shirts, broken tiles, and her own ceramic forms with her hand stitched creatures ranging in size, shape, and vibrant color. With tentacles growing out of her soft sculptures at unexpected angles and intervals Soyer visually stimulates space with her art.

In the work of Maxine Yalovitz-Blankenship the stitching incorporated into her painting, drawing, and mixed-media works is being employed as a means of mending to heal. The works included in STITCH by Yalovitz-Blankenship were created directly in response to the tragedy of 9-11 and through this work the artist helped put herself back together.

Stay tuned to this blog for updates about STITCH becoming a reality in a Boston area venue.

Curating STITCH

A stitch embellishes, a stitch joins parts, a stitch can heal, a stitch can mend, a stitch in time saves nine. STITCH celebrates the whimsy, invention and creativity of contemporary artists who use stitches in their work in non-traditional ways. STITCH examines the use of sewing to create art that is not clothing, not intended to keep a person warm, and not necessarily meant for any intended purpose except to generate thought and occupy the eye.


Each artist in STITCH utilizes different materials and techniques.
Together the works in STITCH illustrate the willingness to explore mixed media by incorporating traditional methods with both reclaimed and newly created materials. With each pass of the needle the artists of STITCH reconnect with something ancient and bring it into the forefront of our modern lives and our contemporary art.

"Sewing has an extensive history dating back to ancient times many years before the first cloth was woven and the first needle invented. Throughout its rich history sewing has been a means for creating functional objects of warmth and covering for the body and for shelter. As sewing related to my own history, my Grandmother had a beautiful cast iron sewing machine that was kept in a wooden table that she spray-painted gold. I never saw her use it, but I hear that at one time she was an avid seamstress. My Father taught me to mend with a needle and thread, sew on buttons that had come off, and darn holes in a sock while stretching it over a light bulb."

- Jessica Burko, Curator