Carol F Stein
biography |
portfolio | artists listing
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2005 Momentum 3,George Marshell Gallery, York, ME
Artful Jewelry, Gallery Suum Ssamzigil, Seoul, Korea
Carol F. Stein, Andora Gallery, Carefree, AZ
2004 Sculpture, Objects, Functional Art Exposition/Chicago,del Mano Gallery,
Los Angeles, CA
Fiber Arts, Mobilia Gallery, Cambridge, MA
Contemporary Baskets, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2003 Momentum: 13 Finalists of Greater Piscataqua Community Artists Grant,
George Marshall Gallery, York, ME
2001 Celebrating Contemporary Crafts, Providence Art Club, Providence, RI
Crafts National 35, Penn State University, State College, PA
Orange County Museum of Art, Newport Beach, CA
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
2000 "Fifty Years of Craft Experience at Haystack", American Craft, January
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Carol Stein's training was as weaver and surface designer.
After having children she found that the
long hours needed to sit at a loom were impractical for her
life style. She moved into basketmaking over several years.
After taking classes with John Mcqueen, Pat Hickman, Lissa
Hunter and Jane Sauer, she cultivated her own unique basketmaking
style through experimentation and adaptations of what she
had learned from these influential artists. Her work ranges
from realist to abstract to non-objective.
ARTIST'S STATEMENT
Ever since I can remember I have made art. However my formal
pursuit of that goal has been circuitous. After graduating
from a liberal arts college, I earned a masters degree in
clinical social work.
I worked as a psychotherapist for six years. During this
time I realized that something essential was missing in my
life. I returned to school to study textile design at Rhode
Island School of Design with the goal of making art my profession.
I spent five years developing a unique sculptural technique
to create my pieces, combining traditional and invented basketry
methods with abstract and realistic drawings. I am fortunate
to be able to mesh experience from two different career paths,
with the resulting interaction informing my exploration of
the human condition and expanding my work as an artist. My
earlier work concentrated on memory; the process through
which we reconfigure experience. It also explored the connection
between what
is seen on the surface and what is concealed beneath.
My recent work explores the nature of conversation. I immerse
myself in the depth and the delicacy of words chosen, the
subtlety of movement through which people converse, and the
multiple layers of communication. Since September 11th, my
focus has shifted to the description of and need for beauty,
diversity, and freedom. Conflict has played a large role
in my life both personally and professionally.
It can be simultaneously exhausting and energizing. It is
the balanced coexistence of these two forces that I strive
to convey in my work.