Connie Rohman
“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.”
—Marcel Proust
Fiber artist Connie Rohman lives and works by these Proustian words of wisdom. Raised in Canada but a long-time resident of Pasadena-adjacent Mt. Washington, Rohman has been reinventing the landscape of fiber art for 12 years. She over-dyes a wide variety of fabric ranging from high-end silks to vintage cotton scraps that she collects at thrift stores like “Sally Ann” (that’s the Salvation Army to you non-insiders) and combines the brilliantly hued cloth in nontraditional ways that challenge viewers to look at the genre differently.
For her richly colored “Line/Language” series, Rohman created a stylized alphabet that works either as abstract design or as a subtle “secret” language for those who look beneath the surface. For example, in “Carpe Diem,” pictured below, the Latin words for “seize the day” make up the spindly line elements of the piece. In addition, her nature-inspired tallitot, or Jewish prayer shawls, are stunning reinterpretations of traditional Judaica. More pop culture than cultural, Rohman’s new work includes vibrant, playful Sudoku grids. In addition to private collections in the United States and Canada, Rohman’s fiber art installation “Begonias,” co-created with Rebecca Janes, can be seen in the new wing of the Northwestern Hospital in Chicago.
Rohman recently turned her focus to other fiber artists’ work as curator of “The Cutting Edge, New Works in Fiber Arts,” a juried show at the Acorn Gallery in Highland Park. The work in the exhibition incorporates non-traditional materials such as photographs, monofilament and found objects and is “light years beyond the ‘craft’ of earlier generations. These are exciting times for fiber artists,” says Rohman, who chatted with us on a gray day in front of a fire at her airy, art-filled home.
1. Can you give us a brief overview of where the fiber art movement is today?
For a long time, quilts were regarded as craft not art because it was part of the woman’s world. But I think fiber art is about to break out. First, women are becoming more empowered in the fine art world. They’re calling themselves artists and seeing themselves as artists. Second, fiber art is a really interesting medium and the art world is always looking for the next new and different thing. Finally, membership in fiber arts organizations such as Studio Art Quilt Associates (www.saqa.com) and Surface Design Association (www.surfacedesign.org) is growing in leaps and bounds.
2. What inspired you to move away from the traditional “craft” element in your own work?
I was always interested in color, texture and the natural landscape around me but I never thought of myself as an artist. The art quilt movement was just emerging in the early ‘90s when I helped make a fundraiser quilt for my daughter’s preschool. I made two or three traditional quilts but in contemporary colors and it just became my creative outlet. I taught myself about color and composition and back-doored my way into the fine art world.
3. How has the Arroyo Seco area and the Arts and Crafts movement inspired your work?
The light is wonderful. And nature is a huge inspiration for me as it was for the Arts and Crafts Movement. Also, the Arts and Crafts movement, like fiber art, honored craft and technique.
3 Favorites
1. What places in Pasadena most inspire you?
The Norton Simon. I love the hidden garden in the middle of the city. Huntington Gardens has the cactus garden, which has so many great textures and shapes, as well as the great art inside. My mother went to Pasadena High School, and one of the family’s friends was the guy who fixed Blue Boy’s knee, which had a rip in it when it came to Huntington Gardens. My mother watched him fix it.
2. What’s your favorite art store?
Swain’s in Glendale. They’re incredibly helpful because artists work there. I was talking to someone about attaching a fiber art piece to a stretch frame and he told me how to do it.
3. A lot of your work incorporates natural themes. What are some of your favorite nature-inspired restaurants?
It’s a tradition in our family to have lunch at Twin Palms on High Holy Days. I always have the Twin Palms salad. I love the courtyard at Saladang Song. And the tearoom at Huntington Gardens is a great place to take moms and sisters. When my daughter Nora was young, we would dress up and I would take her there for high tea.
—by Kim Ohanneson
Ed. Note: Artists reception for “The Cutting Edge, New Works in Fiber Arts” will be Saturday, March 8, 7-10 pm, in conjunction with NELA Second Saturday Gallery Night, and will run through April 6 at The Acorn Gallery, 135 N. Avenue 50, Highland Park.
More of Connie Rohman’s work can be found at www.connierohman.com.
