Ain’t That America, Land of the Free!

Nancy Dutmer

Blue jeans, bead embroidery

“Entertainment is the backbone of my art. Each piece starts with random inspiration which leads me generally to vintage photos, where colorful characters, themes and costuming commingle from various eras into my compositions. When painting, I prefer to work in oils, but the theatrics shine more through painted fabric and bead embroidered art pieces. I conceived this technique to emulate my past profession on stage in dazzling costumes. As I hand stitch each sequin and bead upon my subject, the embellished fabric takes on weight similar to a beaded gown. Fabric paints on stretched fabric became the foundation of this artistry, for the ease of sewing every bauble on by hand. My most ambitious projects to date are series capturing celebrities famous and infamous. First of which is called The 1960’s: Fashion and Fame. These are hand painted/bead embroidered portraits of female icons of the 60’s era. My next series was Damsels in Style: Fashion and Fame, which revolves around famous women throughout history who’s fashion represents their particular era, and who’s style was emulated by women of that era. The most current series is called Here Is the Drag, See How it Goes!, focusing on celebrities with an androgynous air. I continue to waffle between oil painting and bead embroidery, as they both satisfy my artistic cravings in different ways, and they both feed into my desire for audience entertainment.”

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Size: 17″ x 14″ x 22″

Price: $150

Contact melanyb@eauclaire.lib.wi.us for details.