Wk 12 — Artist OTW — Heather Anacker & Krista Feld

Heather Anacky is a freelance located in Chicago, Illinois. Anacker attended El Camino College and received her Associates of Arts with an emphasis in sculpture. She then attended California State University Long Beach, where she received her Bachelors of Fine Arts. Anacker’s mediums consist of weaving, textiles, fibers, and sculpture-work. Furthermore, Krista Feld is also a freelance artist located in Los Angeles, California. Feld attended Cuesta College, where she received a G.E. certification in Fine and Studio Arts. She also attended California State University Long Beach, where she received her Bachelors of Fine Arts. Felds’s mediums consist of weaving, textiles, and fibers.

“Dwelling” was the title of the collaborative thesis exhibition created by both artists. The exhibition was located at California State University Long Beach in the SOA Gatov Gallery West. To begin with, viewers were required to remove their shoes before entering. Engaging deeply rather than walking in for a minute or so and leaving was the purpose of this rule. A few sections of the exhibition caught my eye. The first pieces were shelved jars containing herbs and sawdust. The concept of the jarred materials was to acknowledge the “second life” possibility of the items, even when they appear to be at the end of their life span. Krista Feld expressed how sawdust can be used as a dye when working with fibers and cloth materials. The second interesting area was the table full of pots. The pots contained various amounts of fabric withing a pool of dye. Feld elaborated each had a different material, such as sawdust and herbs, to further nail down her point. A plethora of tools also hung along the wall. The most eye-catching was the tapestry loom that allowed viewers to witness the process of creating a tapestry. The second area that intrigued me was the recreation of Feld’s room. It was the scale of a closet but had multiple open shelves. Feld expressed that the items on the shelves were mostly necessities, but some were just items that brought her joy. The room was wrapped in lilac curtains that added a pleasant accent to the entire structure. Another area contained sculpted spoons and bowls. These allowed viewers to eat some of the Dal and Kichuri (both Indian dishes) Feld and Anacker prepared. They both expressed how simple and economical the dishes were to prepare, and noted that there was “no good food on campus.” Finally, the “pod” woven out of grey fabric was created by Anacker. The purpose was quite simple; to have a chair. Anacker noted the experience of sitting on the floor or countertop was not great, so the creation of the pod came to fruition. It collapses and forms comfortably to the person sitting within it.

Conclusively, I truly enjoyed the exhibition. The idea of a traveling room was marvelous. I own many items that I would consider not necessary, but I also cannot see myself living without them because they bring me a plethora of joy. I also enjoyed the “pod” because it appeared to be extremely comfortable. The humor of both Anacker and Feld was a pleasant appearance because it made me feel like I was really there and not just viewing an exhibition. Overall, the experience was worth taking shoes off.