Polly Adams Sutton
biography |
portfolio | artists listing
b. 1950, Waukegan, Illinois
SELECTED COLLECTIONS
Edmonds Art Museum, Edmonds, WA
Michigan State University Museum, East Lansing, MI
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
Racine Art Museum, Racine, WI
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2008 Fiber Arts Explored I, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Textures and Forms: Contemporary Baskets, Florida Craftsmen, Tampa, FL
2007 Beyond The Basket, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Baskets as Architecture, Mobilia Gallery, Cambridge, MA
Baskets: No Boundaries, Jane Sauer Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
Interwoven: Contemporary Baskets, Ohio Craft Museum, Columbus, OH
1999-07 Sculpture Objects & Functional Art Exposition, Chicago, IL
2006 Woven Myths: Contemporary Basketry, Washburn University, Topeka, KS
Contemporary Baskets, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Natural Origins, Fountainhead Gallery, Seattle, WA
Basketry Invitational, Museo Gallery, Langley, WA
Basketry: Northwest Connections, Tacoma Community College, Tacoma, WA
Waves of Tradition, Slater Mill Gallery, Pawtucket, RI
2005 Cedar Works, Fountainhead Gallery, Seattle, WA
Material Content: Basketry Sculpture in the 21st Century, Craft Alliance, St. Louis, MO
Basketry Reviewed, Artcentric Corvallis, OR
2004 Celebrating Nature, Los Angeles Craft & Folk Art Museum, CA
Northwest Designer Craftsmen at 50, Whatcom Museum, Bellingham, WA
Baskets as Art, The Flinn Gallery, Greenwich, CT
Traditional Craft-Contemporary Art, New Hampshire Institute of Art, Manchester, NH
2000-04 Contemporary Baskets, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2003 Baskets Now, National Basketry Organization, Yeiser Art Center, Paducah, KY
Other Baskets, Thirteen Moons, Santa Fe, NM
Basketry, The Carnegie Visual and Performing Arts Center, Covington, KY
Annual Basketry Invitational, gallery material, Scottsdale, AZ
2002 Tradition Bearers, National Basketry Organization, Arkansas Art Center,
Little Rock, AR
Summer Breeze, NW Fiber Arts Invitational, Fountainhead Gallery, Seattle, WA
Instructors’ Exhibition, National Basketry Organization Biennial Conference, Lewallen
Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM
Summer Faculty Invitational Exhibition, Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts,
Gatlinburg, TN
Art of Contemporary Basketry, gallerymateria, Scottsdale, AZ
Basketworks, Gallery 205, League of New Hampshire Craftsmen, Concord, NH
Sculpture Objects & Functional Art Exposition, New York, NY
2001 Celebration of American Basketry, Amana Arts Center, Amana, IA
2000 Fiber Invitational 2000, Katie Gingrass Gallery, Milwaukee, WI
Contemporary Basketry, Fountainhead Gallery, Seattle, WA
Baskets 2000, A Reflection of Diversity, Windsor, CT
1999 All Things Considered, Tradition and Innovation: Basketry Today, Arrowmont School
of Arts and Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN
Innovation- Baskets and Beyond, Firehouse Gallery, Damariscotta, ME
Basketry – An Evolution of Form, Fountainhead Gallery, Seattle, WA
National Crafts 1999, Lancaster Museum of Art, Lancaster, PA
1998 American Basketry, L.T. Bignell Gallery, Brookfield Craft Center, Brookfield, CT
1997 A Basket Is..., National Invitational Exhibition, Plymouth Art Foundation,
Plymouth, WI
1996 Convergence’96, Portland, OR
The Humble Basket, Sticks and Stones Gallery, Seattle, WA
Basketry Redefined, Sticks and Stones Gallery, Seattle, WA
1990 Shower of Baskets, Prima Gallery, Edmonds, WA
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
2008 “Polly Adams Sutton”, Shuttle, Spindle, Dyepot, Spring
2006 500 Baskets, Lark Books
2003 "Basketmakers' Search: Polly Adams Sutton", Fiberarts, January/February
2000 Leier, Peters, Wallace, Baskets: Tradition & Beyond, Guild Publishing
Sudduth, Billie Ruth, Baskets: A Book for Makers and Collectors, Guild Publishing
ARTIST'S STATEMENT
The manipulative qualities of western red cedar bark are the cornerstone of my sculptural work. I harvest the bark in the spring when the sap is running up from the roots and only with permission from the logging operations. The time of gathering allows me to spend days in the woods while I mull over new forms that have the potential to be woven and twined.
When I started twining “Roma” I was entertaining thoughts of traveling to the Eternal City. I plotted the possibilities as I tightened the wire to hold the cedar and ash in place, making indentations to create a shape that was pleasing to my eye. When the cedar is damp it bends like leather so it is a matter of controlling the tension where I see the potential for a good curve. It is important to constantly assess the overall shape so there is balance in the asymmetry.
“San Pietrino” harbors more thoughts of Italy. The repetition of weaving the wire, strung with beads puts one in a meditative state of working. The exciting eventuality of the finished piece brings to mind places that I would like to be. The smaller piece, “R”, reflects more of these thoughts.
It is a great joy to consult my son on names that come to mind when he sees a finished basket for there are times when my thoughts escape me. The weaving, for me, is about the evolution of a shape that is not preconceived. Consequently I don’t always recall what I was thinking about when I worked on a specific piece. This was a case when “Mr. Hightower” was completed. The name suits the configuration of the twined cedar and ash, atop the cedar woven with wire.
SELECTED COLLECTIONS
Edmonds Art Museum, Edmonds, WA
Michigan State University Museum, East Lansing, MI
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
Racine Art Museum, Racine, WI
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2008 Fiber Arts Explored I, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Textures and Forms: Contemporary Baskets, Florida Craftsmen, Tampa, FL
2007 Beyond The Basket, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Baskets as Architecture, Mobilia Gallery, Cambridge, MA
Baskets: No Boundaries, Jane Sauer Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
Interwoven: Contemporary Baskets, Ohio Craft Museum, Columbus, OH
1999-07 Sculpture Objects & Functional Art Exposition, Chicago, IL
2006 Woven Myths: Contemporary Basketry, Washburn University, Topeka, KS
Contemporary Baskets, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Natural Origins, Fountainhead Gallery, Seattle, WA
Basketry Invitational, Museo Gallery, Langley, WA
Basketry: Northwest Connections, Tacoma Community College, Tacoma, WA
Waves of Tradition, Slater Mill Gallery, Pawtucket, RI
2005 Cedar Works, Fountainhead Gallery, Seattle, WA
Material Content: Basketry Sculpture in the 21st Century, Craft Alliance, St. Louis, MO
Basketry Reviewed, Artcentric Corvallis, OR
2004 Celebrating Nature, Los Angeles Craft & Folk Art Museum, CA
Northwest Designer Craftsmen at 50, Whatcom Museum, Bellingham, WA
Baskets as Art, The Flinn Gallery, Greenwich, CT
Traditional Craft-Contemporary Art, New Hampshire Institute of Art, Manchester, NH
2000-04 Contemporary Baskets, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2003 Baskets Now, National Basketry Organization, Yeiser Art Center, Paducah, KY
Other Baskets, Thirteen Moons, Santa Fe, NM
Basketry, The Carnegie Visual and Performing Arts Center, Covington, KY
Annual Basketry Invitational, gallery material, Scottsdale, AZ
2002 Tradition Bearers, National Basketry Organization, Arkansas Art Center,
Little Rock, AR
Summer Breeze, NW Fiber Arts Invitational, Fountainhead Gallery, Seattle, WA
Instructors’ Exhibition, National Basketry Organization Biennial Conference, Lewallen
Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM
Summer Faculty Invitational Exhibition, Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts,
Gatlinburg, TN
Art of Contemporary Basketry, gallerymateria, Scottsdale, AZ
Basketworks, Gallery 205, League of New Hampshire Craftsmen, Concord, NH
Sculpture Objects & Functional Art Exposition, New York, NY
2001 Celebration of American Basketry, Amana Arts Center, Amana, IA
2000 Fiber Invitational 2000, Katie Gingrass Gallery, Milwaukee, WI
Contemporary Basketry, Fountainhead Gallery, Seattle, WA
Baskets 2000, A Reflection of Diversity, Windsor, CT
1999 All Things Considered, Tradition and Innovation: Basketry Today, Arrowmont School
of Arts and Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN
Innovation- Baskets and Beyond, Firehouse Gallery, Damariscotta, ME
Basketry – An Evolution of Form, Fountainhead Gallery, Seattle, WA
National Crafts 1999, Lancaster Museum of Art, Lancaster, PA
1998 American Basketry, L.T. Bignell Gallery, Brookfield Craft Center, Brookfield, CT
1997 A Basket Is..., National Invitational Exhibition, Plymouth Art Foundation,
Plymouth, WI
1996 Convergence’96, Portland, OR
The Humble Basket, Sticks and Stones Gallery, Seattle, WA
Basketry Redefined, Sticks and Stones Gallery, Seattle, WA
1990 Shower of Baskets, Prima Gallery, Edmonds, WA
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
2008 “Polly Adams Sutton”, Shuttle, Spindle, Dyepot, Spring
2006 500 Baskets, Lark Books
2003 "Basketmakers' Search: Polly Adams Sutton", Fiberarts, January/February
2000 Leier, Peters, Wallace, Baskets: Tradition & Beyond, Guild Publishing
Sudduth, Billie Ruth, Baskets: A Book for Makers and Collectors, Guild Publishing
ARTIST'S STATEMENT
The manipulative qualities of western red cedar bark are the cornerstone of my sculptural work. I harvest the bark in the spring when the sap is running up from the roots and only with permission from the logging operations. The time of gathering allows me to spend days in the woods while I mull over new forms that have the potential to be woven and twined.
When I started twining “Roma” I was entertaining thoughts of traveling to the Eternal City. I plotted the possibilities as I tightened the wire to hold the cedar and ash in place, making indentations to create a shape that was pleasing to my eye. When the cedar is damp it bends like leather so it is a matter of controlling the tension where I see the potential for a good curve. It is important to constantly assess the overall shape so there is balance in the asymmetry.
“San Pietrino” harbors more thoughts of Italy. The repetition of weaving the wire, strung with beads puts one in a meditative state of working. The exciting eventuality of the finished piece brings to mind places that I would like to be. The smaller piece, “R”, reflects more of these thoughts.
It is a great joy to consult my son on names that come to mind when he sees a finished basket for there are times when my thoughts escape me. The weaving, for me, is about the evolution of a shape that is not preconceived. Consequently I don’t always recall what I was thinking about when I worked on a specific piece. This was a case when “Mr. Hightower” was completed. The name suits the configuration of the twined cedar and ash, atop the cedar woven with wire.