Philip E. Harding |
| Brief Biography . Philip Harding is a longtime Richland artist with degrees in Architecture from WSU, Art History from the UW and an MA in The History of Art from The Ohio State University. 00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 Artist Statement (short version, 390 words) Rope work, Processing Beauty The seeds of this project go back to learning how rope was made in Boy Scouts. Then in my mid 20s I found a box of tangled yarn which I carefully teased apart and twisted into a series of short cords. There was something about the character of the cords that appealed to me so much that I began buying up bags of yarn at yard, estate, and rummage sales for several decades. In 2020, while the world was in lock down, I unpacked and sorted the yarn, built my first rope making machine, and began twisting it into ropes and cords. Although I only had a vague idea for how I might use them I found the process so engaging, and the end results so beautiful, that I just kept making more. In the winter of 2022 I took a four foot piece of every rope I had made to date (about 700 ropes) and mounted them on a set of 14 canvas panels. I then returned to making even more ropes, buying up large lots of mixed yarn from online auctions, many of which contained more types of yarn than I could imagine. I knew about basic wool and synthetic yarns, and mohair, but I would eventually learn terms for a range of others, like cloud yarn, pigtail yarn, cable and howser yarns. After learning about bouclé, a yarn that forms loops along its length, I found out about fine, fat, slub, spiral, and shrink bouclé yarn – and that is not even all of them! A personal favorite, a variation on blanket yarn, looks like a string of puffy beads. I like the way they give a rope a nice lumpy texture. In December of 2022 I began making some new large wall hangings. I first tried some classic macrame knots but those felt too clunky so I’ve since focused on simple hangings, either from poles or mounted on canvas. Composing arrangements of ropes is an art project all its own, then preparing poles and supporting brackets has turned into another project. In September 2023 I will be exhibiting my most recent work as the featured artist at Richland’s Allied Arts Gallery, aka The Gallery at the Park. Until then, and after the show, the work can be found on my website at hardingfineart.com.
Artist Statement (The long 724 word version. This version was submitted to Tumbleweird, and printed in their September 2023 edition. See here.) Rope work, Processing Beauty Although I’ve been working on this for several years, I’ve been reluctant to share anything about it, and I’m unsure what to say when I do. With my previous projects I had a clear idea what it meant and why I was making it. Not so with the ropes. I find the process of making them engaging and the results beautiful, but I’ve been unsure what they mean or what they are for. I feel like I should make something about climate change, racism, or rising fascism. This project feels like an escape into beauty, art for its own sake. I had been planning on doing something like this for years but it sat on a back burner. After some reflection I think I know what the catalyst was for starting this when I did, but it has grown into something more. Briefly, the catalyst was some difficult years with my brother John. In September 2017 my brother began sleeping on a recliner in my art studio. In the previous few years he lost his job, burned through his savings and was estranged from his wife. Just getting health insurance took way too much time but once we got it we were able to get a diagnosis, that of early onset dementia. With a diagnosis he could get disability and in March of 2020, just before the start of the pandemic, he was able to move into a group home, followed by assisted living in 2021 before he finally passed away in May of 2022, age 64; only 16 months older than me. While John was living in my studio I focused entirely on digital art. When he moved out I made a couple of paintings but I felt the need to make something more physical. So in mid 2020, as the world was in lock down, I built my first rope making machine, unboxed a large quantity of yarn I had accumulated for just such a project, and began twisting it into rope. As anyone who has cared for someone with dementia knows, it can feel like a slow motion train wreck. It starts slow and at first you don’t know what it is. When it is finally over you are left with a sort of PTSD. Everyone processes grief and trauma in their own way. For me, I walked back and forth the fifty four feet between the rope machine and a fixed point down a long hall, laying out each strand one by one, hour after hour. The process of making ropes, much like weaving, can be mechanical and repetitive, but the end results can also be beautiful. I quickly used up all the yarn I had amassed from yard, estate, and rummage sales and then began buying 10, 20, even 50 pound lots of mixed yarn from online auctions. With new yarns in each lot, I learned a whole new vocabulary – bouclé, pigtail, cloud, howser and cable yarn – not to mention all the blends of color, weight and texture. As I kept making more ropes I felt a little crazy for making so many, especially since I still wasn’t sure how I would use them, but the results seemed so beautiful, and every one was different, so I just kept making more. I did take a few breaks. In January of 2022 I took a four foot piece from every rope I had made to that point (over 700 ropes) and mounted them on a set of 14 canvas panels. Then in December 2022 I took another break and began making some new large wall hangings. I initially tried using classic macrame knots but those felt too clunky. I’ve since focused on simple hangings, either from poles or mounted on canvas. Mixing the ropes to form new compositions is a project all its own, one that often involves days of hanging them, looking at them, making changes and looking at them some more, trying to find selections that feel right. Then making the poles and brackets to support them has turned into another project. In September 2023 I will be exhibiting my most recent
work as the featured artist at Richland’s Allied Arts Gallery, aka
The Gallery at the Park. Until then, and after the show, the work can
be found on my website at hardingfineart.com. |