Caroline Dahl
“Devil Digit Finishing School”
Artist Caroline Dahl tells pictures in fabric.
Specifically, she makes illustrations in embroidery, working with cotton floss and/or metallic braid on cotton muslin, often with appliqué, piecework, or beading as additional elements. The resulting pieces are miniature stories, rather like single-panel comic strips, characterized by Dahl’s fondness for bright colors, keen eye for texture, and lively sense of humor.
In the artist’s statement on her Web site, Dahl describes her “contemporary narrative textiles” as an evolution from quilting, motivated by a desire to tell “more detailed stories.” Working in increasingly smaller sizes – easier to transport than quilts – she eventually arrived at her unique style of storytelling through stitchery.
For her current exhibit, “Devil Digit Finishing School,” Dahl was inspired by the Day of the Dead imagery of central Mexico. The vivid colors and inherent humor of the El Día de los Muertos festival appealed to Dahl, leading her to create stitchwork such as “Groundhog Day of the Dead,” and playful images of iconic totems from Pre-Columbian Mexican civilizations such as the Olmec and Maya. Mexican picture frames in silver and ceramic complete the presentation.
Dahl’s Web site includes extensive information on her art and also her music: “Side A” deals with her career as an internationally acclaimed boogie-woogie piano player, including a discography and record of live appearances; “Side B” contains a gallery of her fabric art and list of her exhibitions, from the U.S. to the U.K. and Europe.
Devil Digit Finishing School will be on display from December 1 to January 3, 2010 at the Throckmorton Theatre, in Mill Valley, California. Home of the Mill Valley Film Festival, the Throckmorton first opened as the Hub Theater in 1915, and now serves as an arts center for the community, with exhibits and performances, from music to dance to fine art and, of course, film.
Opening Reception: Tuesday, December 1, 2009, 5-7pm, Throckmorton Theatre Gallery, 142 Throckmorton Avenue, Mill Valley, CA 94941. The exhibit is open through January 3, 2010.
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Caroline Dahl