Fannie's Furs 26x50x9 archival copy paper,handmade paper,threads, needs Blumendale 1.7MB

ANCESTRAL PERSONAS: figurative paper forms

Opening Artist Reception – Saturday October 18, from 5:30 – 9:00 PM

Exhibit on view from October 18 through November 22, 2014

AXOM Gallery is pleased to present Sue Blumendale’s ANCESTRAL PERSONAS, figurative paper forms. Blumendale has become well known for her sculpture formed with paper she made by hand by combining raw materials. Her new work uses archival photo copy paper and manufactured handmade papers which is used for printing her digital images. The ‘pages’ are then hand sewn together resulting in recognizable articles of vintage clothing, while also being the vehicle for exploiting the paper’s intrinsic nature; its creases, shadows, rough edges and also its function as surface for documentation.

Ancestral Persona’s is inspired by the photographs of Blumendale’s European immigrant ancestors in their prime. The images of her ancestors transcend into a continuum of time from humble smallness into a universality embracing the magnitude of all our ancestors as we relate to the three dimensional garments crafted out of mankind’s most ancient and ordinary materials, paper, yet paper, as sculpture is considered a contemporary art form.

Sue Blumendale has an MFA in Printmaking from Rochester Institute of Technology, and a Bachelor in Science in Art Education from Nazareth College.  She also attended Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Maine where she studied papermaking.  She currently teaches Art Essentials and Marker Rendering at Monroe Community College and has taught at RIT, SUNY Geneseo and SUNY Brockport.  Her work has been exhibited in local, regional and national exhibitions with awards from the Finger Lakes Exhibition, Adams Memorial Gallery: Fiber National ’87 and Intermont College, Virginia. Private and public collections include the Richard Brush Collection, RIT and Eastman Kodak