Non-formatted sample, Dineen ArtSpeak

Artist Statement
Cheryl Dineen Ferrin finds few other subjects as fascinating as the individual. Personal identity is a central theme in her work. Her quilted fabric portrayals draw on the complex interaction between subject and artist to capture the individual’s spirit. In her creative process, she strives to integrate prevailing attitudes on beauty, politics and self-image. Through the poignant interplay of gesture, vivid color, pattern and a touch of voyeurism, Dineen Ferrin defines the enigmatic in her subjects. She attempts to represent her perception of truth, a moment captured that will tell something of the subject, the viewer and the artist.
The non-traditional use of the quilt as a portrait canvas opens another circuit for the interpretation of the individual. Dineen Ferrin relies primarily on hand and commercially dyed cotton fabrics to construct her works. “I love the drape and feel of fabric. The subtle variations in fabric color that are inherent in the hand-dyed process are equally as intriguing to me as a boldly printed commercial design. Each can be used to create the appropriate statement in the portrait. Even the most humble cottons can become incredibly changing and expressive by varying how they’re handled in the designs.”

Cheryl Dineen Ferrin’s subjects exist in spaces seemingly disengaged from the material world. They are very close to the foreground, forcing a direct interaction between the subject and the viewer. Her utilization of multiple images of the subject tempers this confrontational sense with a meditative mood.

Dineen Ferrin also creates abstract works. Her “Elements” series represents a new wave in the art quilt field. Marble, granite and moving waters are sources of inspiration for these lovely designs. Her hand-painted and imported silks, freshwater pearls and gold-plated findings, resolve into fiber art works that glow with meditative calmness.

With a painting background and having been producing fiber art since the 70’s, Dineen Ferrin traveled to Singapore to study batik and other Asian-influenced fabric dying techniques. Her objective was to learn to create unique and compelling surface designs for her art work.  These techniques are evident in the fabrics used in the “Elements” series as well as her hand-dyed silk scarves.

Biography

Cheryl Dineen Ferrin creates large-format portraits with a vibrant palette of silk and cotton fabrics. The resulting "Pop" nature of this combination has inspired people to describe her work as "Andy Warhol-Meets-Quilting-Bee." She melds her childhood needle arts experience with a high-tech background and her love of the figure, to create striking and sensitive portraits.

Since studying batik in Singapore and exploring other forms of surface design, Cheryl designs the majority of fabrics she uses in her artwork. Her ability and flair for creating digitally-developed and printed designs has further expanded her opportunity to make truly unique portrait art quilts. Cheryl has also launched a series of abstract works, Elements, as a result of the creation of her stunning hand-dyed silks. She incorporates her silks, brass and gold-plated jewelry findings and freshwater pearls, to create unusual, one-of-a-kind artworks that exist somewhere between art quilts and kinetic sculpture.

Cheryl has settled in southwestern Michigan where she maintains a quiet, contemplative home. Her rural setting and its relatively close proximity to urban areas such as Chicago and Detroit, allows her the right social balance to feed her creative muse. She has a degree in Art and Economics from a small, liberal arts college. Prior to working full-time in her studio, she worked in business financial analysis, marketing and public relations, and journalism.
Vita

Current Group Exhibitions

2008 Wisconsin Museum of Quilts and Fiber Art, Cedarburg, Wisconsin

Group Exhibitions

2008 ArtQuilt Elements 2008, Wayne Art Center, Wayne, Pennsylvania

2007 Greater Chicago Quilt Exposition, Schaumberg, Illinois

2007 Fabric of the Imagination, Visions Gallery, San Diego, California

2007 Breaking Traditions, American Sewing Expo, Novi, Michigan

2007 Balancing Act, Lawrence Street Gallery, Ferndale, Michigan

2007 Flint Quilt Festival, Flint, Michigan

2007 Art Quilts x2, Riverview Gallery, Portsmouth, Virginia

2007 Home Show, SmartShop Art Gallery, Kalamazoo, Michigan

2007 Fiber Renaissance, Union Street Gallery, Chicago Heights, Illinois

2004Then & Now Invitational, Arts Council Art Hop, West Michigan Cancer Center, Kalamazoo, Michigan

2002 Quilts at the Crossroads, Greater Flint Arts Council, Flint, Michigan

2001 Thursday Night Drawing Group New Works, Arts Council, Epic Center Gallery, Kalamazoo, Michigan

2000 Thursday Night Drawing Group New Works, Arts Council Art Hop, Borgess Woodbridge Hills Gallery, Portage, Michigan

2000 Thursday Night Drawing Group- New Works, Arts Council Art Hop TraverRhorback Gallery, Kalamazoo, Michigan

2000 Arts Council Art Hop/Shop Hop, The Co-op, Kalamazoo, Michigan

1999 Arts Council Art Hop/Shop Hop, The Co-op, Kalamazoo, Michigan

1987 Art Alliance of Central Pennsylvania, Lemont, Pennsylvania

Solo Exhibitions

2005 Peoples Church Gallery, Kalamazoo, Michigan

2004 Crete Public Library, Crete, Illinois

2004 Portage District Library, Portage, Michigan

2002 Portrait Quilts, Arts Council, Epic Center Gallery, Kalamazoo, Michigan

2002 Portrait Quilts, Portage District Library, Portage, Michigan

2001 Recent Works, Cosmos Cucina, Kalamazoo, Michigan

2000 Adirondack Series, TraverRhorback Gallery, Kalamazoo, Michigan

1995 New Works by C. Dineen Ferrin, Mesa Art Center, Mesa, Arizona

Museum Exhibitions

2003 West Michigan Area Show, Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, Kalamazoo, Michigan

Bibliography

Editor, Studio Art Quilt Associates Portfolio 15, 2008

“Crafts Insight”, Crafts Report Magazine, Jan. 2007, page 16

Editor, Studio Art Quilt Associates Portfolio 14, 2007

Editor, Studio Art Quilt Associates Portfolio 13, 2006

Editor, Studio Art Quilt Associates Portfolio 12, 2005

Cedar Lorca Nordbye, “Area Show raises questions about judging a

xxxsmorgasbord of entries,” The Kalamazoo Gazette, 4 May 2003: E9

Amy Sult, “Quilts piece together fun, thoughtfulness: Artist successfully experiments with fabric and quilting as a painterly medium.” The Kalamazoo Gazette, 20 Jan. 2002: E5

Grants

2004 Individual Artist Grant, Arts Fund of Kalamazoo County, Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo

2004 Gilmore Emerging Artist Grant, Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo

Curator

2006 Fiber Renaissance, Contemporary Art Quilts. An invitational exhibit of the works of the Midwestern members of SAQA.

2006 Seductive Fibers. A virtual exhibit at www.saqa.com

Volunteer and Professional Affiliations

Fiber Artist Coalition

Studio Art Quilt Associates, Professional Artist Member

Surface Design Association

Art Alliance of Central Pennsylvania, Lemont, Pennsylvania

   1989 Chairman of the Board

   1987-1988 President

Education:

Bachelor of Arts, with honors, Art and Economics, Monmouth College, Monmouth, Illinois

Graduate art studies, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona

Born: Chicago Heights, Illinois

Resides: Mattawan, Michigan