LUCY BRENNAN'S TRAVELING SHOW
Lucy Brennan's illustrations, books, wearables, and plush figures are art objects and texts as playthings. They champion tactile and visual literacy, and explore material and psychic doubling by means of nested, duplicated, and intertwined human forms.

“For me, soft sculpture is a cobbling of materials as it is a patchwork of traditions. The found materials I use are saturated with tactile histories, some known to me and some secret. The worn out socks I took from my little sister to make a sculpture, for instance, can't forget their previous life swaddling her toes any more than I can forget them in that role.

Furthermore, the needlework techniques I employ, including embroidery, applique, crochet, and felting have thrived for centuries in an abundant history of permutations. From the 11th Century embroidered Bayeux Tapestry depicting the Norman conquest of England, to the contemporary fabric books of self-deemed 'detritivore' Lois Morrison, it is quite difficult to find a culture that does not celebrate stitchery as both an expressive and decorative craft.

The puppet and doll motif is undeniably prominent in my work, inviting playful interaction at the same time that it evokes nested or doubled identities. A doll naturally absorbs and reflects the dreams, desires, fears, and fancies of its human playmate, just as the human playmate is influenced by the surface and form of the doll as a representation of the human body. The same might be said about a book or illustration as a representation of the human imagination. As was the case when Pygmalion fell in love with his statue, which was promptly thereafter given life by the gods, the barriers between reality & appearance, or life & art can become unnervingly elastic - especially in the vulnerability of serious imaginative or artistic play, when the internal world of a human subject recreates itself in appearances.” – Lucy Brennan






ABOUT THE ARTIST.

Education
2002-2006 South Whidbey High School, Whidbey Island, WA
2006-2010 University of Washington, Interdisciplinary Visual Arts & Comparative History of Ideas BA, Seattle, WA

Selected Exhibitions
2011 (Upcoming: January) "The Next Generation": Brackenwood Gallery, Whidbey Island, WA
2010 (November) Gift Show: Open Door Gallery, Whidbey Island, WA
2010 (October) Fall Ladies' Show: 20Twenty Gallery, Seattle, WA
2010 (October) "Wrapped in Art": Museo Gallery, Whidbey Island, WA
2010 (September) Whidbey Island Arts Council Studio Tour, Whidbey Island, WA
2010 Senior Show: Sandpoint Gallery, Seattle, WA
2010 Solo Thesis Show: Jacob Lawrence Gallery, Seattle, WA
2010 "Strange Coupling": Ouch My Eye Gallery, Seattle, WA
2010/09 Art & Design Juried Show: Jacob Lawrence Gallery, Seattle, WA (2009 Juror's Choice)
2009 Solo Show: Cafe Allegro, Seattle, WA
2008/07 "Does Size Matter?": Jacob Lawrence Gallery, Seattle, WA

Costumes
2009 Myth of Me and You, Maureen Whiting Dance Company, ACT Theater, Seattle, WA

Publications
2010/09/08 Bricolage: Visual & Literary Arts Journal, Seattle, WA
2010 Community Alliance for Global Justice pamphlet, Seattle, WA illustrations
2010 Curio: Visual & Literary Arts Publication, Seattle, WA

Arts Education
2011 (Upcoming) Assemble Gallery & Studio Craft Instructor, Seattle, WA
2010 Northwest Language Academy French Day Camp, Head Teacher, Whidbey Island, WA
2010/09 Pipeline Project's Alternative Spring Break facilitator, Bookmaking with Youth, Forks, WA and Brewster, WA
2010 Community Literacy Program Teacher's Assistant, Elementary Arts & Literacy Education, Seattle, WA
2007 Visual Arts Director: Island Strings Music Daycamp, Whidbey Island, WA

LEARN MORE.

www.lucyalmabrennan.com
www.flickr.com/lucyalmabrennan

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