“Prismatic Springs” by Deb Berkebile. Credit: Courtesy of Deb Berkebile
The Ohio Arts Council’s Riffe Gallery will host a talk with textile artist Deb Berkebile Tuesday in conjunction with the gallery’s “It’s an Honor to Be Here” exhibition.
According to the OAC website, the exhibit features work from 16 Ohio-based artists and explores themes related to nature. As one of the contributors, Berkebile will speak about her personal inspirations and artistic process in a virtual Zoom talk from 11 a.m. to noon, followed by a Q&A session.
The event is free, but those interested in attending must register in advance at the eventbrite listing.
Maria Burke, one of the gallery’s co-curators alongside Madeline Beaumier, said the goal of an multi-artist exhibit like “It’s an Honor to Be Here” is to showcase a diverse range of pieces and mediums from artists across the state.
“We were trying to pull from a lot of different places because we wanted to get a breadth of representation in the show,” Burke said. “The Ohio Arts Council has an artist registry that [Beaumier] and I both looked at extensively because we wanted to broaden our range of folks, trying to get people from different corners of the state.”
Burke said when the duo was sourcing artists, Berkebile’s quilt work stood out, as it is inspired by satellite images of Earth captured using Geographic Information Systems.
“[Berkebile] is just such a multidisciplinary artist, just the way that she works with fabrics; we really wanted to have somebody that works in the fibers,” Burke said. “We love the fact that she’s using GIS information to create her quilts. We specifically were really in love with her Great Lakes quilt that she has, which is all hand-dyed. She’s even stitched little fish into the stitching of the quilt, which you can only see if you see it in person, so it was a really fun surprise.”
Burke said her and Beaumier’s decision to exhibit Berkebile’s work goes beyond her artistic prowess, as Berkebile also has an educational background in the natural sciences.
“Great Lakes” by Deb Berkebile. Credit: Courtesy of Deb Berkebile
“She does a lot of teaching and speaking,” Burke said. “We know she’s just got some really neat insight. She’s doing work we’ve never seen anyone else do before.”
Burke — who hails from Ohio’s Ashtabula County — said Berkebile also serves as representation for an area not often associated with the arts.
“It’s really nice to hear from somebody who’s not living in one of the major cities,” Burke said. “I think sometimes, those artists get overlooked because they don’t have that availability to the big city, so she’s a perfect example of the type of artist we wanted to highlight.”
Berkebile said she chooses to draw inspiration from the natural sciences and use GIS technology, which is not typically linked to creative endeavors, due to her status as an environmentalist.
“The reason the satellite imagery is done, to begin with, is for environmental impact,” Berkebile said. “I really consider the impacts of what is happening in our world, in the United States, at the parks. I’m a big National Park fan.”
Berkebile said she started working with textiles as early as the second grade, but she didn’t have the opportunity to refine her craft with art quilts until 2014.
“I went back to school at Lakeland Community College when I was 50, and I decided to take a GIS class,” Berkebile said.
Berkebile said “Earth as Art” — a 2012 book by Karen Yuen and Lawrence Friedl showcasing satellite images of Earth dating back to 1960 — has been her primary source material for her GIS quilts since she discovered it while studying at Lakeland.
Notably, Berkebile said the book features public-domain NASA images that she replicates through quilting. She often uses “false color” techniques, which alter the colors of images and help enhance contrast.
Berkebile said she is exhibiting five original pieces in “It’s an Honor to Be Here,” with four of them being available for purchase by visitors. In addition, she said Tuesday’s artist talk will go beyond just these five works, as she will also discuss her distinct artistic journey as a whole.
“I am going to go from where I started to where I am today,” Berkenbile said. “I’ll show my processes, and then at the end, I will be showing some of my new work that actually isn’t in the show, but it’s at this other exhibit — kind of showing my variety and what I do.”
For more information about the event, including registration, visit the eventbrite listing.
