Lee Ann Kleeman

medium: textiles

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Untitled - Pin/Pendant with Necklace 1 2009 Textiles	Untitled - Pin/Pendant with Necklace 2 2010 Textiles	Untitled - Pin/Pendant with Necklace 3 2011 Textiles
Untitled - Pin/Pendant with Necklace 4 2010 Textiles	Untitled - Pin/Pendant with Necklace 5 2011 Textiles	Hawaii: 'Auinala A'Hea'He (Afternoon Breeze) 2008 Textiles
Requiem for a Coral Reef 2008 Textiles	Requiem for a Coral Reef - Detail 2008 Textiles	Threading My Way Through Peru 2011 Textiles
Turning Point: Peace Corps, Afghanistan, 1967-1969 2011 Textiles

Contact information
19 Stonefield Ter
Madison, WI 53717
Email Address: silverthreads@charter.net

Artist statement
Currently, my work consists of framed wall pieces and brooches that can also be worn as pendants. I design each one-of-a-kind piece, then hand-stitch them employing techniques that have been used in the embellishment of royal and ritual textiles for centuries. Color, texture and pattern are at the heart of my work. I’ve chosen to stitch with metallic and silk threads and with beads because of their wide range of colors and textures. These materials and elements help me to create a variety of moods in my work. The light reflective properties of the beads and threads help to give it a magical quality. Pattern has been an integral part of my work since having lived in Afghanistan where I was surrounded by the intricate geometric designs of their textiles and tiled mosques. Following that experience, I have continued to study the patterns and designs used by cultures around the world and throughout history. In addition, I have also been influenced in the past few years by colors, patterns and textures observed during my travels to places such as China, Hawaii and Mexico. Most recently, my work has included more organic shapes, ones that are reminiscent of leaves, seed pods, birds and insects. Although there is definitely a connection with distant times and places in my work, it has a contemporary and very unique, personal style.

Biography
Selected Exhibits:
Wisconsin Designer Craft Council juried show, three pieces, Museum of Wisconsin Art, West Bend, Wis., January-March 2011
"Turning Point" group show, Madison Contemporary Fiber Artists at Overture Center for the Arts, Madison, Wis., January-April 2010
FIBER FORUM exhibit at Embroiders Guild of America, San Francisco, Calif., September 5-10, 2009
Juried into FIBER FORUM a national organization of creative, original needleworkers, April 2008
Wisconsin Arts Board Exhibit, Five Fiber Artists, Madison, Wis., January 14-March 7, 2006
Solo Exhibit, Textile Gallery at The Dining Room, Monticello, Wis., May 20-September 15, 2005
"Seductive Surfaces", two-person show, Gallery 119 North, Plymouth, Wis., October 7-November 27, 2005
"Reflections," Wisconsin Designer Crafts Council juried show, three pieces, Stevens Point, Wis., April 10-May 23

Employment:
1997-present, Studio Artist
1970-1997, Art Teacher, Madison Public Schools, Madison Wis.
1967-1969, Peace Corps Volunteer, Arts Specialist, Jalalabad, Afghanistan
1964-1967, Art Therapist, Milwaukee Psychiatric Hospital, Wauwatosa, Wis.

Education:
1981, University of Wisconsin Madison, M.A. in Jewelry/Art Metal
1964, Downer College, now Lawrence University, Appleton, Wis., B. A. in Art

Galleries:
The Bindley Collection, Middleton, Wis.
The Dining Room at 209 Main, Monticello, Wis.