The Questionnaire: Terry Jarrard-Dimond

The Questionnaire is meant to be a lighter version of a bio, a little more revealing in some respects and personal without all the facts bogging it down. I supply the questions and the respondents supply the answers. Either one or both of us supply the images.


Note: After my last post about spacing, the Blogger God came after me. This post has been a nightmare to control for spacing and type size. I apologize if it has a strange look here and there. It is not intentional and totally out of my control.

             Terry Jarrard-Dimond            

What is your favorite color?

Red! I feel an actual vibration from some shades of red.

Image caption: "Passion," hand-dyed cotton, machine pieced and quilted, 62"H x 71"W

What is your favorite word?

I have a friend who uses Magnificent a lot and that always tickles me. I think my word may be Wonderful! I've never thought of that before.

What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?

I love to be with creative people. I have been in workshops where I could feel the creativity in the air and knew I was working at a high level based on that extra energy.




What turns you off?

 I am turned off by people who are too aggressive or engage in what I call "big talk". This kind of behavior makes me want to get as far away from the person as possible.I




What profession other than artist would you most like to be?

If I were not an artist I'd love to be a musician. I don't have any musical talent but you can always dream. I think it would be an excellent experience to interact with someone else by playing music together.



  

Image caption: "Seek Shelter," hand-dyed cotton, machine pieced and quilted, 17"H x 17"

What is your favorite book or movie?

My favorite book is "The Queen Must Die" by William Longgood. The book reveals the secrets of bee culture and how it might be viewed if their culture was applied to people. Men.....you best hope that never happens.

Who is your favorite musician, musical group or style of music?

I have enjoyed jazz since I was a teenager. Recently I have been listening to some more experimental music but still related to jazz. Groups such as Praful, The Karminsky Experience and Tipsy. The world wide web has made is much easier to find groups like these.





Find more artists like The Karminsky Experience Inc. at Myspace Music



What do you most value in your friends?

Warmth and dependability. I love people who are involved in their own lives but still have room for others.



Name three artists whose work has influenced your own or whose work you most relate to.

Eva Hesse, Tom Dimond and Nancy Crow. I have always admired the exploration of concepts and materials by Eva Hesse and the bravery she showed by making the work. Tom Dimond is my husband and it has been very inspiring to watch him work with ideas he has pursued for many years. Nancy Crow inspired me to find my voice with fabric through her work and her example

Eva Hesse: Untitled (Seven Poles), Set of 7 pieces, resin and fibre-glass, polyethylene, aluminium wire, 272 x 240 cm. I enjoy the lumpiness of these forms, which for me refers to the physical movements she made when she wrapped the poles. I just saw this work in person as it is part of the permanent collection at the Musee National D'Art Moderne, Centre de Creation Industrielle in Paris.

Tom Dimond: "Yellow Circles," monoprint, 24" H x 20" W. This piece is in our personal collection and I hope it remains so. It is a monoprint Tom did at Blacksnake Press in Greenville, SC. It is quiet and serene and emits a soft glow. I look at it every day. My eyes go to it every time I enter the room where it hangs.

Constructions #58 © Nancy Crow. 100 percent cotton fabrics, hand dyed by Nancy Crow. Cut and machine-pieced improvisionally by Nancy Crow. Hand quilted by Marla Hattabaugh with pattern denoted by Nancy Crow.

I have always loved this piece by Nancy Crow as it is so deceptively complex. There are very subtle color shifts going on, especially in the lightest columns, which are a delight to discover. One additional reason I selected this piece is that I have not only seen it in person but assisted in hanging it at Nancy's barn a few years ago for a group of her students. Because there are so many pieces of fabric requiring many seams, the piece is very heavy.

Name an artist whose work you admire but which may be unlike yours.

I am currently enamored with the painting of Gerhard Richter. I love the thickness of his painted surfaces and the smeary colors. I can just feel the weight of the amount of paint he uses. Dye on fabric is very different.

A work by Gerhard Richter showing his "smeary" colors

A work by Terry inspired by Richter

Another Richter-inspired work

And yet another

What is your idea of earthly happiness?

Having my family with me. Being healthy. Having lots of time to work in my studio and not having to go grocery shopping.




More Work by Terry Jarrard-Dimond

"Forest Floor," constructed from hand-dyed cotton fabric, free cut, machine pieced and quilted, 78.25" x 78.25". This piece is currently included in the exhibition "Color Improvisations" in Stuttgart, Germany.

"Alone Together"

"She Came Undone," hand-dyed cotton, pieced and quilted, 49"H x 45"W

"Barn Dance," hand-dyed cotton, machine pieced and quilted, 85"H x 82"W

You can see more of Terry's work at www.terryjarrarddimond.com

and follow her blog at studio24-7.blogspot.com

(Note that Terry will be teaching classes this fall and spring. Get details about classes on her blog.)