Emily Dvorin

Artist Statement/Bio I have been a fiber artist for over 32 years. My work has been exhibited in shows and galleries across the country. I have won awards and honors for my baskets and currently teach four different techniques of basketry. For 30 years I have owned and operated a retail store selling my own work and a variety of work from 400 mostly West Coast artists. I am deeply committed to the fiber vessel. For me the vessel is a metaphor for containment of the life process. With vessels, some functional and some sculptural, I am inspired to create, construct and sculpt with fiber, interacting with material, pattern, color, design, shape and texture. I am trying to change the definition of basketry by exploring contemporary interpretations of a traditional craft using non-traditional ingredients. I have experimented with shoulder pads, wire, cable ties, hardware cloth, zippers, recycled odds and ends, mountain-climbing rope, handmade paper and ordinary household items. My work is about communicating. My pieces speak for me, allowing me to express myself. I use a "visual language" with an emotional and personal vocabulary. My hope is that others will pick up the dialogue as they view my work. I am passionate about my work. I am driven through this discipline to be my most creative, inventing and forming something out of nothing. I thrive on unique, one-of-a-kind creations and I truly enjoy custom-order work and commissions.
Juried Exhibitions (Partial List)
2007	“Funky Junk” – The Art of Recycling Show, Art Center, San Luis Obispo, CA “Arte de Descartes VII” – Art From Discards Show, Stables Gallery, Taos, NM “Third Annual National Fiber Arts Show”, Sixth Street Gallery, Vancouver, WA “Call for Small” Exhibit, Sebastopol Center for the Arts, Sebastopol, CA “Off The Wall” – Surface Design Association Show, Translations Gallery, Denver, CO “Fiber National Show”, Lancaster Museum of Art, Lancaster, PA “Artfully Reclaimed III” Exhibit Art League of Northern California, Novato, CA “Nothing New: Fiber From Recycled Materials” Show Textile Center, Minneapolis, MN “Yosemite Renaissance XXII” Show, Yosemite Museum Gallery, Yosemite, CA (traveling) “28th Annual Contemporary Crafts” Show, Mesa Arts Center, Mesa, AZ “A Twist on Tradition” Show, Artisans Center of Virginia, Waynesboro, VA “S.O.F.A. New York” Exhibition, Mobilia Gallery, NY “S.O.F.A. Chicago” Exhibition, Mobilia Gallery, Chicago. IL (2004–2007)
2006	“The Art of Craft” Show, B. J. Spoke Gallery, Huntington, NY “Fiber Fever” Exhibit, Foundry Art Centre, St. Charles, MO “Waves of Tradition” Show, Slater Mill Gallery, Pawtucket, RI “Absolute Abstracts” Show, Artisans Gallery, San Rafael, CA “Crafts National, Contemporary”, Lancaster Museum of Art, Lancaster, PA “Beyond Fibers: New Forms” Show, Eleanor Bliss Center for the Arts, Steamboat Springs, CO “Materials Hard & Soft” Exhibit, The Meadows Gallery, Denton, TX (2005–2006) “Intersections” Show, fiber/Dimensions, Presidio Herbst Exhibition Hall, San Francisco, CA (2002, 2004) 38th, 36th, 34th “Annual Textile Art Exhibit”, Olive Hyde Gallery, Oakland,CA (2002, 2004) “Innovations in Fiberart” Exhibit, Sebastopol Center for the Arts, Sebastopol, CA (2002, 2004)
2005	“Hide and Reveal,” 4th Cheongju International Craft Competition, Cheongju City, Republic of Korea “Nothing New – Fiber Art from Recycled Materials” Show, Textile Center Gallery, Minneapolis, MN “Craft USA”, National Craft Triennial Juried Exhibition, Silvermine Guild Arts, New Canaan, CT (2002)
2004	“California Design 2004” Show, 600 Townsend Gallery, San Francisco, CA “Forms: Function Optional” Show, Artworks Downtown, San Rafael, CA “Traditional Craft / Contemporary Art” National Exhibit, New Hampshire Institute of Art, Manchester, NH “Found Objects” National Exhibit, Long Beach Arts, Long Beach, CA (2003)
2003	“Seams Likely: An Exhibit of Contemporary Fiber”, Art Works Gallery, Newark, OH “Traditions: The Blessing and the Curse” National Exhibit, Womanmade Gallery, Chicago, IL “Fun &Games:A Playful Look at Fine Craft”National Exhibit, Artisans Center of Virginia, Waynesboro, VA
2002	“Moving Through Light”, National Juried Exhibition, Portland, OR “Light and Laughter: An Exhibition of Crafts and Small Art Works”, Claudia Chapline Gallery, Stinson Beach, CA
2001	“Visceral Works: Ten Fiber Artists”Show, Sight and Insight Gallery, Mill Valley, CA “Contemporary Baskets” Exhibit, Mesa Arts Center, Mesa, AZ “eMotion Pictures – Orthopaedics in Art” Show, San Francisco, CA “Transforming Trash”Exhibition, Redding Museum, Redding, CA “Form:Paper &Fiber” Show, Artisans Gallery, Mill Valley, CA
1999	“Marin Lagoon Art Festival”, San Rafael, CA (1999 - 2007) “Fine Art Exhibit”, Marin County Fair, San Rafael, CA (1999 - 2007)
Invitational Exhibitions
2006	“Nature/Culture – Artists Respond to Their Environment”, Soc. for Contemporary Craft, Pittsburgh, PA. “Goods and Objects”: Artisan Exhibit & Sale, Pelham Art Center, Pelham, NY “Extreme Materials” Exhibition, Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester, NY
Solo Exhibitions
2005	“Emily Dvorin” Show, Crockett Contemporary Art Gallery, Crockett, CA
2000	Solo Show, Arrivederci Restaurant, San Rafael, CA (1996, 1997)
1995	“Women’s Work”Show, Brick Hut Gallery, Berkeley, CA
Publications
2006	Artist Profile – Emily Dvorin (Niche Magazine, Spring 2006) American Art Collector, Alcove Books “Breaking New Ground” (Surface Design Journal Gallery Issue, Fall 2006)
2005	Art Collectors West, Alcove Books
2003	“Profile in Success – Emily Dvorin: Weaving Three Decades of Craft Retailing and Artistry” (The Crafts Report, October 2003) – feature article “Creating Abundance” (Surface Design Journal, Summer 2003) – front cover and feature article Craft of Northern California, Alcove Books
2001	Women Artists Datebook, Cedco Publishing Company
2000	Making the New Baskets: Alternative Materials, Traditional Techniques, Lark Books
Commissions
2004	Original basket for lobby of Hydrofarm, Inc., Petaluma, CA
1997	Original basket for lobby display, Summit Medical Center, Oakland, CA
1996	Original basket for front cover of Tradición y Cambio, McGraw Hill Publishing Co., San Francisco, CA