Milwaukee artist Ella Clemons has produced a series of stitched portraits focused mostly on the restrooms of local dive bars.
She developed an interest in the subject as a result of growing up in Kentucky, where her parents own and operate a bar. Clemons learned to sew in high school through an arts magnet program and went on to major in fibers at Peck School of the Arts at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Clemons produced small-scale stitched drawings that act as pages of a sketchbook recording unlikely places, including dive bar restrooms.
“I enjoy making work in a series because it feels open ended. I can continue to add works forever if I wanted to and I like that aspect,” Clemons said. “Milwaukee is known for their bars so I thought it would be a fun project for people to see these works and recognize the space. I thought making it more specific to the bathroom rather than the bar as a whole would make a more interesting series. Everyone knows what it’s like to be in a high traffic bathroom. Even if you haven’t been in one of the bathrooms I made, you’ve definitely seen one similar.”
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Clemons said she wanted the pieces to be fun to look at. “I try to find bathrooms with strange set ups, or funny things on the wall, something to set them apart,” she said. “I took the photos for most of these bathrooms, although my aunt did send me one of the images I used as reference.”
The works are made from scrap fabric and thread. “They start out as a drawing on fabric, then I cut out the pieces of whatever fabric I have to fill in the spaces,” Clemons said. “Next, I use the darning foot to free motion sew the pieces into place.”
Clemons’ parents have run a bar in Louisville, Kentucky since she was an infant.
“Because of this, I do feel a sense of nostalgia towards dive bars,” she said. “When I started going out to bars for the first time, they felt familiar to me, in the way they looked and even smelled. Even though most people did not grow up in a bar, I think the familiarity of a dive bar bathroom is something people can relate to.”
Clemons’ art is part of “Criss Cross: A Fiber Exhibition,” which presents the work of 27 national and regional artists at Portrait Society Gallery of Contemporary Art (207 E. Buffalo St., Suite 526.)
Portrait Society is a contemporary art gallery with a broad roster of emerging and established artists. Established in 2008, the gallery showcases predominantly regional artists who cross boundaries of economics, gender and race. Portrait Society is interested in project driven bodies of work that explore the concepts and ideas of making art about identity, presence, social interaction and community.
The gallery also seeks to expand the ways in which art is shown, inspire contact and dialog, and foster a sense of community. The gallery is interested in artists who are often unheard of or under-recognized.
The second in the gallery’s series of group exhibitions dedicated to fibers and textiles, “Criss Cross: A Fiber Exhibition” features artists who stitch, weave, tuft, layer or build with fabric.
Another Milwaukee artist, Heidi Parkes (currently the Pfister Hotel artist in residence) frequently travels to explore the cultural traditions of textiles or to lead sewing and quilting workshops. In response to the places she has visited, Parkes has created a series of travel quilts that record her impressions. Her work is also part of the exhibition.
“Criss Cross: A Fiber Exhibition” remains on view through Nov. 9. Gallery hours are Thursday-Saturday, noon to 5 p.m. Gallery Night is Friday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Gallery Day is Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
