Ferne Jacobs: A Personal World at the Claremont Lewis Museum of Art

This exhibition is drawn from and expands upon the Craft in America survey exhibition, Building the Essentials: Ferne Jacobs, April 2, 2022 –June 18, 2022. The Claremont Lewis Museum of Art’s 2023 exhibition will present a comprehensive selection from Ferne Jacobs’ 50 years of artmaking.

Jacobs began her work in fiber at the Claremont Graduate University (CGU) in the 1970s. This exhibition is an effort to deepen our knowledge and appreciation of her art by bringing it back to Claremont in the company of works by some of the artists who have influenced her, and a selection of objects she has collected that give insight into her creative vision. It is our hope that the exhibition and its accompanying public programs will serve not only to inform and delight our visitors but also to inspire the next generation of artists studying and working in Claremont.

The exhibition will delve deep into Jacobs’s private world by featuring works by artists she is inspired by and collects. The exhibition will include Vija Celmins’s delicate spider web prints; “Chevak” dolls made by Alaskan artist Rosalie Panyak; paintings and porcelain bowls by abstract artist Patsy Krebs, who also earned her MFA from CGU; watercolors and intimate sculptures by California artist Dominic Di Mare; and art by American fiber artist Lenore Tawney along with personal items and correspondence from their long friendship. Jacob’s Echo Park home is a place of solace and inspiration, a space that she continually curates, containing such objects as carefully arranged rocks, shells, fetishes, Plains Indian and Inuit dolls, Native American baskets, and ceramic bowls by Toshiko Takaezu. Her artistic sensibility permeates every wall, corner and shelf, while the objects with which she surrounds herself enlarge our sense of her artistic inspiration and vision.

Printed copies of the catalog published by Craft in America are available on Blurb for $24.

Mary Little on cataloging her process

Textile artist Mary Little shows us her process and how she catalogs each project after completion. Bonus video from the INSPIRATION episode

Mary Little on the repetitive nature of her work

Artist Mary Little on the repetitive nature of her textile work. Bonus video from the INSPIRATION episode

Biskakone Greg Johnson segment

Meet Ojibwe artist Biskakone Greg Johnson featured in the HOME episode

Mary Little segment

Textile artist Mary Little segment from the INSPIRATION episode

Hmong Paj Ntaub segment

Meet Hmong Paj Ntaub artists Suzanne Thao and Mandora Young, Hmong artist Tousue Vang, and Hmong Chef Yia Vang featured in the INSPIRATION episode

Diedrick Brackens segment

Weaver Diedrick Brackens segment from the INSPIRATION episode

Hmong Paj Ntaub Embroidery Workshop with Mandora Young

Learn how to make a basic Hmong paj ntaub needle work pattern. Paj ntaub (“pan dow”— flower cloth) is an integral part of the Hmong culture. This traditional needlework or cloth embroidery dates back several centuries and is an art form of creating patterns and designs with thousands of needle strokes on a piece of cloth. The compositions usually incorporate motifs symbolizing family clan, nature, or folklore.  The workshop fee is $55 with a capacity of 15 students.

About the Artist:

Mandora Young (b. 1972, Vientiane, Laos) is a Hmong artist and educator specializing in traditional Paj Ntaub (“flower cloth”) textiles. Young first learned this traditional needlework technique from her grandmother and practiced it as a child. In 1979, following the Laotian Civil War, Young and her family immigrated to the United States, and she became a U.S. citizen in 1999. After taking time away from her creative pursuits to raise her children, she returned to Paj Ntaub as an adult and discovered a lack of classes and interest among her community. In 2018, in an effort to revive and maintain this essential part of Hmong cultural identity, Young began teaching her own class. She now teaches many classes and workshops for all ages at libraries and schools, welcoming both Hmong and non-Hmong community members into her classes. Young is committed to passing down the Paj Ntaub cloth embroidery techniques as well as conveying the significance and history of the art form.

We require everyone to wear a face mask when inside the museum.

Professional Practices Seminar with Mary Little

This workshop will repeat on May 6, 2023. Find out more here.

Mary Little is an independent artist who works directly with collectors, interior designers, and art advisors. Her main avenue for marketing and engagement with her clients is through social media and direct email marketing.

In this one-hour seminar Mary will focus on building engagement with interior designers. She will cover:

• Why you would work with designers
• How to find and select designers to engage with
• How to make relationships with them using social media and email marketing
• Websites that work for artists and their audiences
• Keeping records of your plans, contacts, and inquiries

Mary will share some of her resources that will help you carry out the above and others to help you build and grow your practice/art business.

If you are wanting to build or increase sales of your work and develop this side of your artist practice, consider coming to this seminar.

The workshop has been sold out. Please email rsvp@craftinamerica.org if you would like to be on a waiting list.

Mary Little Bio:

Mary Little, born in Northern Ireland, is a Los Angeles-based artist and sculptor. Her primary medium is unbleached artist canvas which references her early career as a furniture designer. Moving to Los Angeles in 2014 with a handful of contacts, she’s grown her artistic practice and income by employing tactics she developed as a designer and small business owner.

Little had a solo exhibition at Craft in America Center in 2018 and her work has been shown internationally at the Craft Contemporary, Los Angeles, the Textile Museum, Washington D.C. and Übersee-Museum, Bremen, Germany. Her furniture is in the permanent collections of the Vitra Design Museum in Basel, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, and Victoria & Albert Museum, London and in private collections in Europe and North America. Her work has been reviewed in Fabrik, The New York Times, Luxe magazine and Architectural Digest.

Diedrick Brackens on weaving and writing

Weaver Diedrick Brackens on the connection between weaving and writing. Bonus video from the INSPIRATION episode