As you stroll around campus, you may notice the blue and white banners newly adorning campus lampposts—a signal of the celebratory events comemorating women’s contributions to the school. The Tremaine Gallery’s new show, Threaded Together: Alumnae Artists Share a Moment, joins the celebrations by featuring the work of twenty alumnae artists.
Ms. Joan Baldwin, director of special collections, curated the show with assistance from Ms. Terri Moore, the director of the Tremaine Gallery. They reached out to all alumnae from class of 1975 forward and received responses from twenty artists. Ms. Baldwin and Ms. Moore selected 36 pieces to exhibit. Ms. Baldwin said, “We were looking for each artist’s strongest submission, but also pieces that even as digital thumbnails we could see were going to be a) super strong and b) drive visual conversation between pieces.”
One artist, Ms. Elizabeth Gourlay ’79, who has been featured in past Tremaine shows, tragically died of cancer last April. The exhibit is dedicated to her. Ms. Baldwin said, “Elizabeth embodied many of the characteristics I think we hope all our students will grow into. Dedicating the show to her seemed like the best way to honor her.”
Ms. Mandana MacPherson ’82 has three pieces in the exhibit, all of which were showcased at the Center of Maine Contemporary Art in 2022. The first, “Vestment”, woven out of old bike tires, resembles a kimono hung on a horizontal rod. Ms. MacPherson said, “Though this piece is very much a garment, it also looks like an angel. It definitely has a religious feel to it.”
Ms. MacPherson uses recycled and upcycled rubber in a number of her recent art pieces. She also sells bags, purses, and wallets made from reclaimed inner tube material on her website. Ms. MacPherson said, “When I was at Brown University in 1984, I started making bags with a friend of mine. I remember hating leather, because it was not durable or attractive, but one day, I came across inner tube rubber. Inner tubes develop a texture on the outside from being inflated against the inside of the tire, creating a lovely finish on each item and making every piece unique.”
Ms. Grace Bristow ’18 has two works in the show, including “Lenses,” an abstract series of ink drawings of dark and light circles. Ms. Bristow said, “I sat for eight to ten hours to create these very detailed, minute markings.” Her other piece, “Gut Punches,” is an installation of bubbles made of hemp and flax fibers, which were initially shaped over clay molds. Ms. Bristow said, “In forming the clay for the pieces they were cast from, I was thinking about the body and what the body may look like if you were to be punched in the gut. It was a very intuitive project.”
