Berri Kramer: fiber artist
  home   about the artist   prints & originals   events   contact  
 
 
About Fiber Artist Berri Kramer
 
Artist Berri Kramer
Berri Kramer
My love of color, combined with travel to different cultures, brings continued inspiration for the creation of my abstract art quilts. The process of completing my Master’s study in Color and Design at Lesley University allowed concentrated studio time. My current work is the culmination of that endeavor.

My interest in color relationships leads to intricate work with complementary and tertiary color families. Travels to South America and the Philippines on humanitarian missions brought me new palettes, new emotions and new visions that became my studio companions. My asymmetrical pieced works are made from a vast array of fabrics found throughout the world.

Professional Biography

Education
2003 MA. Lesley University: Color and Design through Fiber
1973 B.F.A. Kent State University: Design and Crafts
Minor in Art History

Workshops
Portsmouth Fabric Co., Portsmouth, NH: workshop with Dianne Hire, 2001
Fiber Arts Festival 2000, Portland, Maine: workshop with Mary Allen Chaisson
Haystack School of Crafts: Shibori fabric techniques with Barbara Goldman, 1999

Professional Experience
1993-present President of Heartwood College of Art
     Kennebunk, Maine
Instructor in: Color and Design, Exploration of Crafts, Cuisine and Art, Book Arts
March  2005 Photojournalist for Rotary International in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa
February  2004 Photojournalist for Rotary International at St. Mary’s Hospital in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa.
October 2002
and 2003
Photojournalist for Rotaplast International to Cebu City, Philippines.
March  2001 Photojournalist for Rotaplast International to Cumana, Venezuela
February  2000 Photojournalist for Rotaplast International to Cochabamba, Bolivia
1977-1997 Designer for Better Homes and Gardens Crafts Club and Magazine.
Co-owner of Mellow Crafts, Inc (manufacturer of craft kits)

Authorship
Comprehensive Multicultural Education by Christina Bennett, front cover design, 2006.
Answered Prayers, a Rotaplast Journey of Hope: 96 page, hard bound edition of over 60 photographs telling the story of a trip to Bolivia to perform surgeries on children with cleft palates, cleft lips and other physical deformities.  Published by Rotaplast Press, 2000.
Handmade for Kids:  Book of the Month, published by St. Martin’s Press, 1982.
American Patchwork and Quilting (magazine), June 1993.
Quilting Designs and Instructions.

Shows and Exhibitions
2006 Brush Art Gallery “Art Quilts:NE/NY 2006,” Lowell, Massachusetts.
2006 “Work Of the Hand,” Center for Maine Contemporary Art, Rockport, Maine.
2005 “Inner Strength,” photographs of the Women of South Africa.  Kennebunk Free Library, Kennebunk, Maine.
2005 “Inner Strength,” photo exhibit, Brunswick, Maine.
2003-2005 River Club Art Show, Kennebunkport, Maine.
Honorable Mention for three years in photography
2004 “Mbali,” a photo essay of a child headed household in South Africa, Kennebunk Free Library, Kennebunk, Maine.
2004 ”Cutting Edge” Fiber Art, Heartwood College of Art, Kennebunk, Maine.
2003 Rockland Museum of Contemporary Art, Rockland, Maine.
Fiber Show
2003 Solo Show, “Off the Wall”, Heartwood College of Art, Kennebunk, Maine.
2002-2006 Faculty Show, Heartwood College of Art, Kennebunk, Maine.
2000 “From a Distance” one person show in fiber Art, 45 Degrees, Kennebunkport, Maine.

Artist’s Statement

My profound respect for the environment and ancient traditions in art and craft is borne out in the process of creating my quilts.  Sometimes Shibori fabric dying begins the journey to finding and creating the best colors to achieve a tactile interpretation.  Sometimes a piece of cloth has had a life as an article of clothing or other utilitarian designation.  Its perfect color or texture is now a significant part of a quilt.  Finding the pieces is the most difficult part.  They are usually right there, they just need looking for.  Life’s chaotic assortment of joys and struggles provide the illuminating and emotional truths that are my inspiration.  As I foster and support emerging artists in my work, I strive to nurture my own artist self.

 

 
To order, request more information
or fabric samples, please contact:


Berri Kramer
Fiber Artist
4 East Avenue
Kennebunkport ME 04046
207.967.0118 (after 6 p.m. EST or weekends)


© 2006 Berri Kramer. All Rights Reserved

Web Design by:

ANEW Graphic.com


207.891.7566