Dianne Shullenberger Professional artist

Artists Statement

My early works were watercolors, primarily landscapes and still-lifes. My interests turned to textile work, including quilting and trapunto. In looking for ways to blend these media, I have developed a technique to produce layered fabric collages. Over the years, I have gathered and stored trunks full of different fabrics, including quilts, curtains, hand-made clothing sewn by my mother, and bolts and pieces of designer textiles. My studio walls are lined with fabrics, chromatically arranged; and shelves hold boxes of old scarves, silk ties and tie-dyed fabrics.

I begin a fabric piece with large blocks of color in the background and work toward finer detail, applying smaller pieces one at a time with a hatpin, strategically placing them in the composition. Fabrics have many different personalities; and I manipulate them by wrinkling, coiling, pulling threads, cutting through layers, reversing sides, exposing raw edges and constantly altering the textures and color combinations. I use the sewing machine to adhere the pieces to the background and frequently change thread colors in order to subdue shapes, soften edges and clarify the design, just as in a painting.

I also make colored pencil drawings on black paper, which result in luminous, pastel-like textures, but with finer detail. Almost all of my work is inspired by nature and the outdoors. My drawings are often produced on location or are completed in the studio, based upon sketches or photographs. I frequently use these studies in creating fabric compositions.

Professional Resume

BACKGROUND AND EDUCATION
Born in York Village, ME--1944
Purdue University--B.A.--1966
University of Hawaii--Summer Session in Art--1965
Herron Art Institute--Indianapolis, IN-- Summer Session--1967
Evanston Art Center--Evanston, IL--1970
Vermont Studio Center--Johnson, VT--1992

BOARDS, PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS & PRESENTATIONS
Board of Trustees, Vermont Arts Council--1996-2001
Vermont Governor's Craft Center Overview Commission--1996-2001
Panelist, Vermont Crafts Council: "Sources of Stimulation and Inspiration"--April, 1998
Memberships: Fiber Arts International; Vermont Crafts Council; Surface Design Association
Board of Directors, Jericho, VT, Community Center--1996-Present
Director, Vermont Regional Open Studio--1995-Present
Director, Artisans Market, Northeastern Chittenden County, VT--1995-Present
"Tour de Vermont" Bicycle Arts Project for Charity, Coordinator--2001--2002

ACQUISITIONS
Art Institute of Chicago--Permanent Collection Textile Department: "The Woods," Fabric Collage--1996
"20th Century Textile Acquisitions"--Art Institute of Chicago, Show: April-August 1999

COMMISSIONS
Michael Reese Hospital HMO--Chicago, IL--1986
Dr. Beach Conger--Hartland, VT--1990, 1992
Dr. Jeffery Hartzell--Philadelphia, PA 1991, 1992, 1993, 1999
Dr. Robert Naylor--Jericho, VT--1994
Shimmering Glass Gallery, Stowe VT--1999

CORPORATE PURCHASES
Rawson Library, Jericho, VT--2002
Psychological Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA--1997
LouAnne Neilsen, Trademark Realty--Burlington, VT--1995
Vermont Bar Association--Montpelier, VT-- 1994
Paul D. Dunkling, D.D.S.--Jericho and Burlington, VT--1992, 1993, 1995
Sutherland and Collins, P.C.--Burlington, VT--1992
Mickenberg, Dunn, Sirotkin and Dorsch--Burlington, VT--1991
Dinse, Erdman and Clapp--Burlington, VT--1990
University of Vermont--1986
Thompson Industries, Port Washington, NY--1985
Montshire Museum--Norwich, VT/Hanover, NH-1983

Awards and Honors

Fiber Celebrated 2000--Estes Park, CO--2000
1st Prize--Mixed Media--68th Annual Juried Exhibition--Art Assoc. of Harrisburg, PA--1996
Art On the Mountain--Sistare Award--Haystack Mountain, VT--1994
Peoples' Choice Award--Montshire Museum Show--Hanover, NH--1988
President's Award--Norwich University--Northfield, VT--1989
Best In Show--Art In The Round Barn, Waitsfield, VT--1991, 1992-96

SELECTED JURIED AND INVITATIONAL EXHIBITIONS
"Fiber Survey"--Snyderman-Works Gallery, Philadelphia, PA-2002
*Fiber Show-Attleboro Museum, Attleboro, MA--2002
"Garden Homage"-- Flynn Center for the Arts--Burlington, VT--2001
"Fiber International"--Turtle Gallery, Deer Isle, Maine--2001
"Paintings In Cloth and Thread"--Roberts-Wesleyan College, Rochester, NY--2001
"It Must Be The Water"--Mill Brook Artisans-At The Dianne Shullenberger Gallery, Jericho, VT--2001
"Monolah "(Cherokee for "Mother Earth"), Solo Exhibition, Selected Fiber and Colored Pencil
The Helen Day Art Center, Stowe, VT--Fall 2000
"Texture and Line"--Group Show, Vigland Gallery, Benzonia, MI--2000
"Fantastic Fibers," Yeiser Art Center, Paducah, KY--1999
Arrowmont National '99--Gatlinburg, TN--1999
Helen Day Art Center-Solo Exhibition, Stowe, VT--1999
"Deeply Rooted"-- Solo Exhibition, Frog Hollow State Craft Center--Burlington, VT--1998
Beside Myself Gallery--Featured Artist, Arlington, VT-- Fall 1997
"Art and Bloom"--Helen Day Art Center, Stowe,VT--1997
Garden Invitational-- Frog Hollow State Craft Center--Burlington, VT--1997
S.O.F.A. (Sculptural Objects and Functional Art) Exposition-- Navy Pier, Chicago, IL---2000
S.O.F.A. Exposition--New York City, NY--1999-2000
Selected Artist Showcase, Vermont Arts Council--1997
"What I Ate and When"--Art Center of Douglas County, Castle Rock , CO--1996
Art Association of Harrisburg, PPA--68th Annual Juried Exhibition-1996
Stratton Arts Festival--Stratton Mountain, VT--1985-1998
"Art In The Round Barn"--Annual Exhibition--Waitsfield, VT--1988-1998
Art On The Mountain--Haystack Mountain, VT--1992, 1994-2000
*Wesleyan Potters Show --Middletown, CN--1992, 1994-2002
"Envisioned In A Pastoral Setting"--Shelburne Farms--Shelburne, VT--1988-2002
"Arts Alive"--Burlington, VT--1989-1997
"Fruits and Vegetables"--Studio On The Square--Roanoke, VA--1995
Featured Artist--June 1995--Frog Hollow, Middlebury, VT--1995
Vigland Gallery--Featured Artist--Benzonia, Michigan--Summer--1995, 2000
"Scents Of Summer"--Firehouse Gallery--Burlington, VT--1995
Vermont Open StudioTour--1994-1999
"Celebration of Excellence," Calendar--Fletcher Allen Health Care--Burlington, VT--1994-99
"The Uncommon Thread"--Frog Hollow State Craft Center--Burlington, VT-- 1993
Basin Harbor Club--Vergennes, VT--Artist In Residence Program and Show--1992-93
Codman House Art Festival--Lincoln, MA--1992, 1994
"In And Out of The Garden"--Frog Hollow State Craft Center--Middlebury, VT--1992
"Art of Craft In Vermont "--Frog Hollow--Burlington, VT--1992
Southern Vermont Art Center--Manchester, VT--1991
Art Show--Vermont College of Norwich University--Montpelier, VT--1989, 1990
"For Art's Sake"--Stowe, VT--1990
"Celebrate The Crafts"--T.W. Wood Gallery--Montpelier, VT--1991
American Textiles Show--Neville Sargent Gallery--Chicago, IL--1988
Peabody Art Gallery Holiday Show--Boston, MA-1989
Montshire Museum Show--Hanover, NH-- (Peoples' Choice Award)--1988
Vermont Quilt Festival--Northfield, VT--1983, 1986-1987
Shelburne Museum Quilt Show--Shelburne, VT--1986-1987
Worchester Invitational Quilt Show--Worchester, MA.1985

GALLERIES

Hibberd McGrath Gallery--Breckenridge, CO
Dai Ichi Art Gallery--New York, NY
Joan Parker, Rochester, NY
Castle Gallery--Fort Wayne, IN
Mobilia Gallery--Cambridge, MA
Frog Hollow State Craft Center--Middlebury, Burlington, Manchester, VT
Wetsman Gallery--Birmingham, MI
Vigland Gallery--Benzonia, MI
Vermont Arts Council--Artists' Registry, Montpelier, VT
Snyderman /Works Gallery--Philadelphia, PA
Clark Gallery--Stowe, VT
Polonaise Gallery--Woodstock, VT
Turtle Gallery--Deer Isle, ME
Shimmering Glass Gallery--Stowe, VT
Dianne Shullenberger Gallery--Jericho, VT
Art On The Town Gallery--Pentwater, MI
Gayle Wilson Gallery-South Hampton, NY
Green Mountain Gallery-Stowe, VT