Meeting the Petticoat Painters, Part 2

Judy Lyons Schneider with "The Elder" and "Asian Fire"

Arts Advocates kicked off its Art Talks series with a session featuring five of Sarasota's Petticoat Painters. As the group approaches its 70th birthday, it is one of the longest running female arts collectives in the United States. The tagline on the Petticoat Painters' website reads "Framing New Works: Evolving Artists of the 21st Century." Given the way the member artists explore new approaches in their work, the catchphrase is quite apt.

Judy Lyons Schneider's life as an artist began at the age of 14 when she took her first classes at the Art Students League in New York City. Schneider works in many mediums, but she has found a true passion in printmaking. Printmaking always involves layering as different inks are used with each pass of the press to create an image. But Schneider's process is more complex as she incorporates collage, chine colle and other techniques into her work. Viewers are encouraged to get up close and personal with Schneider's creations to fully appreciate the detail. 

While Schneider was always attracted to printmaking, the toxicity of the traditional process kept her away from the medium. Until, that is, she discovered solar printmaking. The technique is basically what it sounds like and employs the sun rather than acid to do the work of creating an image. Better for the artist and better for the environment. That's what I call a win-win. For more on Schneider and her work, click here.  

Diane Schmidt with "Connections"

Diane Schmidt's love of layering comes in part from going on archeological digs with her father when she was a young girl. The excitement of discovery as they explored the cracked Arizona desert floors has stayed with her and made its way into her art. 

Schmidt's images are often fractured as she breaks forms down and pulls shapes out. It's a clever form of abstraction. To obtain texture she will layer bits of paper, leaves or twigs on a piece of watercolor paper, water it down and see what's there when the paper has dried and the objects have been removed. Again, there's that wonderful sense of discovery. Like Kehinde Wiley, Schmidt finds her models in the course of her life rather than asking friends and family to sit for her. They are invited to adopt their own poses so her work shows their unique personalities. I like it. 

And here's a fun note about Schmidt's background. She didn't begin her fine art journey until she was in her 30s. Schmidt was always creative -- she designed and made clothing -- but didn't think about a career as an artist until she saw an ad on tv for a commercial/fine art program at a local college. A natural talent, Schmidt was soon recruited by Hallmark. She said she enjoys doing paintings of more interesting things than the bunnies and flowers that populate the card rack at CVS. For more on Schmidt and her art, click here. 

Jana Millstone with "Secret Sky Jannah"

Jana Millstone is the last - but by no means least -- Petticoat Painter who participated in the panel discussion. Millstone's works are figuratively rather than literally layered. She goes deep into a topic by creating a series of works on the subject. Her "Secret Sky Jannah" is the last of a series inspired by the Taliban's treatment of women. 

The burkas women are compelled to wear is a natural topic of interest for Millstone. In her previous life, she was a clothing designer and spent her time creating clothing that allowed women to express themselves. Burkas, of course, are the polar opposite in their uniformity and the way they force women to be hidden from view to all but their closest family. 

Millstone has become fascinated with the concept of veils as barriers. Veils not only prevent others from fully seeing these women; they also impede communication and understanding. They are a way of silencing these women. Millstone's inspiration for her "Veil" series includes Arabic poetry about being made mute, as well as writings about the American suffrage and Civil rights movement. She sometimes writes her own poetry to accompany her work. The title "Secret Sky Jannah" comes from a poem by Rumi that reads, in part, "This is love: to fly toward a secret sky, to cause a hundred veils to fall each moment. First, to let go of life. Finally, to take a step without feet." For more on Millstone's art and inspirations, click here. 

Thanks to Arts Advocates' Stephenie Frasher for organizing this event and to the members of the Petticoat Painters who participated. For more on the Petticoat Painters, click here. And for more on Arts Advocates, click here. The Arts Advocates series of Art Talks will continue on August 18 with a conversation with Mark Ormond, former Senior Curator and Deputy Director of Collections at the Ringling Museum of Art, and will be followed by a presentation on September 15 by Denise Kowal about the evolution of the ever-popular Chalk Festival. For more information, go to the Arts Advocates "Events" page. (The Kowal event should be posted shortly.)