The Female Gaze

The Female Gaze is the theme of the second 2024 Price Center exhibition. The Price Center is a local community center in San Marcos, Texas, built inside a historic church building. While the center formally caters to the senior community, it is a popular location for artistic events and they host a series of 6 shows each year. This March show focuses on how women view the world. I focused on the ability of small batik pieces to capture the luminous beauty of the silk with jewel like colors and the accent provided by a metallic resist.

The first image is called "There is a Center" and featured a tree reaching towards the moon in a starred sky. The garnet colored dye in the heart of the tree, as well as the teal/black dye mixture in the sky, was sprinkled with salt to create a separation reaction, revealing either new color or texture, in the case of the tree heart.

There is a Center. Silk Batik. 5"x5" 2024

The second piece is a small version of the bird's nest I have been doing in much larger size recently. The constraint of the size allowed the texture of the nest to stand out, while the small eggs posed a challenge.

Nesting. Silk Batik. 5"x5" 2024

Both are on exhibition at the Price Center March 5th through April 27th.