Greetings All,
Here's an update on Linda Witte Henke. I hope that you enjoy.
Some of my recent vacation in Hawaii was devoted to developing the design for a large project that will be created in collaboration with students and faculty of a Christian fine-arts academy. As some of you know, the design phase is my favorite part of the creative process, and I'm excited with how this design is coming together.
The scripture text selected by our godson, Clay Wilson, for his Affirmation of Baptism provided inspiration for "Forever." We were privileged to join Clay and his family for the celebration of this faith milestone.
Just before Christmas, I completed "My Beloved," a work commissioned by Christ Church in Zionsville, IN, to honor the retirement of Associate in Ministry Ann Diefenthaler Albertin.
Work continues on "Re-Membered: Conversations with Biblical Women," a collection of life-scale figurative sculptures that will be linked with narrative commentary to invite a sense of spiritual kinship with women in the Judeo-Christian scriptures. My intention is to have the first three sculptures completed by the time I leave for Louisville, KY, the end of February to participate in Session II of the Advanced Independent Study Program with my mentor and friend, Jane Dunnewold. Work on this collection has become a very powerful experience for me; I'll be eager to share something of that experience with you as the project continues to evolve.
Work is underway on Bound Together and Tightly Woven, a collaborative weaving project that I designed for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's Indiana-Kentucky Synod. The project, which is being partially funded by an ELCA worship grant, calls for member congregations of each of the Synod's ten conferences to weave fabric strips through three-foot-by-fifty-foot panels of nylon poultry netting. I will then assemble the panels - and do some additional weaving! - to create a tapestry measuring approximately 30-feet-by-30-feet, which will serve as a visual focal point for the 2012 ELCA IN-KY Synod Assembly, June 7-9 in Covington, KY. I'm also pleased to be involved in planning worship for the Synod Assembly.
In an effort to develop techniques for creating some work that is more broadly affordable, I have been experimenting with creating digital designs for commercial printing onto fabric, which I can then incorporate into projects. My most recent experimentations have produced some very promising results.
Response has been positive to my 2012 Seasonings calendar. The calendar, which links my photographic images with scripture texts and the Christian liturgical seasons, is available in both print and electronic formats.
I was recently interviewed for an article in Seminary Ridge Review, a scholarly publication of Lutheran Theological Seminary in Gettysburg, PA. I was also interviewed by a student in Loyola University's Institute of Ministry in conjunction with a course in practical theology.
Word in Season is the title of my solo exhibition February 22 through April 15 at Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology in Saint Meinrad, IN. The exhibition features work expressive of seasons in the Christian liturgical calendar.
I was pleased to be one of the artists whose work was selected for inclusion in the Lent-Easter 2012 issue of Behold: Arts for the Church Year, an arts devotional resource produced by Logos Productions. The three-page spread features "Becoming Bread," a processional cross that I created a few years ago for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's Rocky Mountain Synod.
I was privileged to be among the artists invited to participate in Art + Psalms, an exhibition at Covenant Fine Art Center in Grand Rapids, MI, sponsored by the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship to coincide with their annual Symposium on Worship. The exhibition will next travel to Second Christian Reformed Church in Grand Haven, MI.
My "Great O Antiphons" are included in Imagining the Sacred Art of Chant, a juried, on-line exhibition sponsored by the Episcopal Church in the Visual Arts. My work was also featured on the Episcopal Cafe art blog.
I was honored to be selected as the Studio Art Quilt Associates' "Featured Artist" for the month of January 2012.
I was recently notified that several pieces of my work have been selected for inclusion in the liturgical-art exhibition that will be part of the General Convention of the Episcopal Church scheduled for July 2-12 at the Indianapolis Convention Center.
Two pieces of my work were selected for inclusion in a juried exhibition by members of the Louisville Fiber and Textile Artists scheduled for March 4 through April 13 at the Louisville Visual Art Association, 3005 River Road in Louisville, KY.
My membership in the Fiber Artists Coalition results in the exhibition of my work in a variety of venues. Two of the group's exhibition collections, "Some Like It Hot" and "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird," were recently exhibited at the Prairie Center for the Arts in Schaumburg, IL. "Conversations in Stitch on Nature" will be exhibited during May 2012 at the Mosquito Hill Nature Center in New London, WI. "Conversations in Stitch on Abstractions" will be exhibited May 25 through July 8 at the South Shore Art Centerin Cohasset, MA, and July 21 through August 25 at the Bloomington Park District Museum in Bloomington, IL.
As much as I hate to conclude my Studio News with an apology, I am feeling the need to extend one. Over the past year or so, I have been experimenting with a variety of tools and formats for these periodic communications with you, some with varying degrees of success. I am reasonably confident that my most recent venture (Constant Contact) holds promise, but I must beg your indulgence while I struggle with yet another learning curve.
Thank you for your interest in my work and your patience with my learning!
Linda
www.lindahenke.com
Barbara Schneider
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