Dallas Design District Outing

I dragged my kids to the Design District in downtown Dallas last week. Mostly, I really wanted to see a small show called "Saddle Stitch" by Lisa Kokin at the Craighead Green Gallery. I'm so glad I went!

Lisa's show was promoted in newsletters from the Dallas Area Fiber Artists and Quilters Guild of Dallas. She describes the show as "new horticultural works made from pulp cowboy novels and new lace cowboys." Yes! It's fiber art!

I wasn't sure if photos were allowed, so I just snapped these two.

There are much better pictures on Lisa's site. I really love all her work. I'm drawn to her three dimensional pieces, especially those incorporating text. I had a nice chat with the gallery manager about introducing Lisa to the Dallas market and educating people about fiber.

Since I have several drawers full of vintage linens, I've been inspired to think of new ways to create with them.

Lion outside the gallery. Roar!

Throw back political street art?

We ventured down the street of the "design district" to a few other galleries. It was Thursday late morning and no one was around.

I'm guessing the Design District is mostly visited by "designers" buying art, furniture and accessories for wealthy home owners. It feels a little cold and business oriented.

We strolled through Smink where I was happy to see two of Kathryn Clark's quilts from the Foreclosure Series. I remember reading about these quilts somewhere quite some time ago. It was cool to stumble upon them.

I love the grid structure, the ragged edges, the delicate stitches and the subtle-yet-provocative subject matter. You can see the quilt above is framed, which I'm not sure I love. I think of fiber as so essentially tactile, and putting it behind glass obscures the ability to appreciate the tactile nature. 

I found this odd, "actual textile"  

I spoke briefly with someone at the gallery and I asked about those words. She rolled her eyes and said "You would not believe the questions we get. I've even had people ask if this is a print." What? I guess this is part of why some fiber artists (quilters) think their work is not appreciated or accepted in the fine art world. How could someone not see that the art is made from fabric stitched together? I just don't get it.

Then we ventured around the bend to the Dallas Contemporary. We were greeted by this awesome Shepard Fairey mural. This is a panoramic shot... so it's small on the blog. You should be able to click to make it bigger.

The Contemporary is huge. Warehouse-like. Cold. Overwhelming. Provocative. I'm glad we went, but I wasn't drawn in.

Here's a bit of the Richard Phillips exhibit, which includes a giant Mitt Romney portrait you can see through the archway.

We ended with lunch at the Meddlesome Moth, a trendy gastropub. Cool sign and ivy covered building. It was only ok. Maybe better for dinner with cocktails and my husband rather than lunch with the kids.

I follow lots of these galleries on Facebook, so I'll be eager to go see more shows in the future.