Wk 12 — Artist OTW — Heather Anacker & Krista Feld
Maria Torres
ART110
Professor Glucman
11/15/2020
Artist: Heather Anacker & Krista Feld
Media: Wood, Natural fabric dye, Natural dye, Fibers, Wood shavings, Food offerings, Sewing and Weaving
Website: N/A
Instagram: N/A
Heather Anacker and Krista Feld are former Cal State Long Beach students who are now a collaborative group well known for their fiber exhibition “Dwelling”. They are fiber artists, this means that they work with synthetic and natural fibers to create their work. Both Anacker and Feld believe in the importance of simplicity and showing the hard work that goes into the complete masterpieces. In their exhibition” Dwelling”, they show the process they go through to create their own materials such as dying fibers with leftover sawdust and even vegetables such as onions. They show the raw unfiltered process of their work as well as the perfect imperfections. They have a wall dedicated to the tools that were used as long as pieces that have been created by those tools such as Heather Anacker’s apron that has a pocket for everyone of the tools she utilizes on a daily basis. They highlight the importance of family, each artist presented a grandmother’s sewing kit that they now incorporate into their daily lives. This illuminates the message of hard work, they are honest about the process of their art pieces revealing that it may not always turn out as we’d like such as a pair of shoes Anaker sewed and a knitted fabric that she mentioned took hours to complete a small section. Krista Feld presented a portable room that she can take anywhere she goes and that is all she needs to feel at home. They make it clear that they want to educate others that mass production isn’t necessary to create art, letting the audience see for themselves the process their work goes through.
Their artwork incorporates pastels and nude colors. This is due to the fact that they make their own dyes with leftover sawdust. All of the art pieces presented are either handmade or passed down from family members. Anacker revealed that one of her knitted pieces took hours to complete a few inches since it was a new technique she was learning. The lines are very close together and very tightly knitted along with a few knots she incorporated in the form of circles. They also included a wall that both artists collaborated on by including the tools they use to complete their art pieces. Anacker and Feld also included a piece that provided them with comfort such as Heather’s chair that provided her with a sense of warmth and Krista provided a room that included everything she needed to feel at home, giving the audience a personal connection with the artists. Their work displays the hard work and unfiltered process of their work, not just the finished products.Although it was very simplistic, the meaning behind each piece revealed much depth.
Krista Feld’s art pieces are very simplistic but carry a much deeper meaning. Feld likes to present her ideas through the process of her work, such as where and how she gains her materials and what she utilizes to bring her ideas to life. In the video Krista Feld revealed that she collected leftover sawdust that most people usually throw away but she wanted to give it a purpose, she then discovered that pine wood, a very common type of wood produces a very yellow dye she could then use to dye her fabrics. Most people would have just labeled the wood shavings as trash but Feld found its purpose. She believes everything labeled as useless always has a purpose to the right person. Heather Anacker’s pieces revealed the meaning of hard work. Anacker presented her first pair of shoes she has ever tried to sew out of scratch and shared that it was very difficult and did not turn out how she’d like but it was a reminder of how hard she worked to accomplish the goal she set for herself. Both artists value hard work and sustainability.
What resonated with me the most about these two artists was how much depth was behind their masterpieces. Before entering their exhibition anyone who wished to view their work hard to take their shoes off, this meant that you actually had to commit to something rather than speeding through it and not really taking it all in. This idea made me realize to slow down and appreciate the little things in life. I feel that I don’t really take the time to actually appreciate what’s right in front of me.
