what am I up to... Well, the Exhibition I direct is gearing up and this is the time of the year this blog gets a little sparse! I am still committed to daily blogging on studio snapshot.

have a great summer!Go to studio snapshot !

Today at Studio Snapshot

the Beerhorst's share thier world with us at Studio snapshot...have a look.

boarded up love

new drawings

The latest post on studio snapshot, Jen Adrion

I am posting daily at studio snapshot, during this time of promoting my work and looking for galleries, this blog has become a bit neglected! I don't want to loose you all together, so please check out studio snapshot.

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colossal stack of show I am entering...wish me luck!

See this stack of papers! I am sending out applications for shows!! Sort of like casting out 50 fishing lines to get a bite! Hee Hee!

felt

Here is a peice that was created for the show made of felt, this was the first felt piece, I was thinking of the remaining pieces of clothes once all the quilt pieces where cut out of them. I thought I would chart the life of objects by just there profile. Also I thought of representing a family unit, and there is a red thread weaves them together.

drawing

Drawing on my photographs, sorry this pic i took with my computer camera, the old cannon needs a charge

blow off

I think after several trips out these past few weeks that it is time for me to print and draw.

black and white

community quilt bee, quilt is finished!

The community quilt is finished, thank you to all who participated!

new work

Some work from my solo exhibition at Wehrle gallery

neighborhood gone

I am shooting against time, tring to get lots of houses before the leaves burst out and start blocking them.
East side, Columbus

east rich

Took this photo today, near champion on the east side.

Columbus dispatch, review

EXHIBIT | OHIO DOMINICAN UNIVERSITY
Fiber pieces explore notions of feminine identity
Sunday, March 29, 2009 7:15 AM
BY CHRISTOPHER A. YATES

The fiber artwork of Melissa Vogley Woods is about dichotomy and uncertainty.
The pieces on view in Ohio Dominican University's Wehrle Gallery probe many levels of meaning.

Woods contrasts the past with the present, the feminine ideal with contemporary realities and childlike innocence with worldly troubles.

Almost every work is a dialogue with a quilt pattern called "Sunbonnet Sue." The pattern typically features a pioneer girl in a dress wearing a bonnet. Originating in the 1800s, the character suggests innocence and purity, and the pattern reeks of cuteness.

In Woods' hands, though, it becomes a symbol for uncertain identity. As a character, Sunbonnet Sue represents a nostalgic desire for the past. But, because we never see her face, she is, in essence, an empty vessel.

Woods twists the idea of purity with humor.

In a series of six separate images, Sunbonnet Sue is shown carrying different items. The titles all begin with I'm Sorry I Can't Shake Your Hand Right Now, I'm Too Busy . . . and conclude with a description of the object she casually carries under her arm -- trash, a church and a temple. In one, she points a missile.


For The Columbus Dispatch on two translucent layers (one with the image of the White House and one with a church), Leader Confusion questions conflicts between church and state. Multiple Sunbonnet Sues cling to both buildings. A rabbit symbol overlaps the structures, suggesting a need to reconsider values and beliefs.

Works with sheer, layered fabric are the strongest. A union of technique and form, they lead the viewer to thoughts of memory or the passage of time. In Leaning on a Crowd Cloud, a female figure is supported, pestered or perhaps overburdened by a host of Sunbonnet Sues. Stacked on top of one another, they hang from the figure's back and look like the feathers on an angel's wing. With the past on her side, Sunbonnet Sue seems to behave with both constructive guidance and vengeful malice.

At the heart of the exhibit is the question of feminine identity.

Historically, the art world has dismissed traditional craft. Burdened by stereotypes and sexism, quilting has always been "women's work." Expanding on the notion, Sunbonnet Sue is simply a vessel for "every woman." Tossed and turned by societal expectations, she is both driven and conflicted, powerful and weak.

With humor and insight, Woods produces meditations on the complexities of contemporary life. Deceptively simple, her message is clever and engaging.

yellow and orange

Newark, Ohio

goodbye

trailer trashed