Port Alfred artist to exhibit visual art at Art Santa Fe Festival
FROM Port Alfred to Santa Fe New Mexico, Lisa Nettelton’s brainchild, molo mimi, is set to receive more international exposure in the next few weeks as she makes ready to pack her bags for a New Mexico art adventure.
Nettelton said she was reeling with excitement and can’t wait to set foot on desert soil, to not only share some of her art but also to engage and experience a complete new culture of design and expression.
The Art Santa Fe Festival is a three-day event which hosts artists internationally and from all over the US. Nettelton applied through the department of trade and industry which sent on various entrants from South Africa to a selection committee in Santa Fe who ultimately chose artists for the exhibition.
Molo mimi is known for its exciting style of mixing various art mediums and disciplines, Nettelton is a master at repurposing and “upcycling ” materials and transforming them into anything from clothes, cushions and handbags.
She has gone back to her creative roots and will be exhibiting as a visual artist in the visual art category.
She said she was happy to have been chosen and feels privileged that the trip, which is sponsored by the department of trade and industry, will ignite some new ideas and perspectives to her own artistic palette. “Innovation is very important to me; if I see something I have never seen before even if I don’t like it personally, it inspires me. I have a deep level of respect for authenticity, ” Nettelton said.
For the items she has selected to exhibit, she has incorporated a lot of motion stitch (free stitch), fabric collage, embroidery, and hand-cut letters incorporating text and fabric paint. “I’m really looking forward to experiencing a new culture and a new reality,” she said. “This opportunity allows me to go back to my original expression which ultimately is visual art.”
For the remainder of the 10-day trip, Nettelton is looking forward to visiting several sites, as well as observing traditional Santa Fe architecture.
About 10 years ago, Nettelton started sewing and not long after molo mimi was born. She has enjoyed success abroad in New York and in Cape Town at the Watershed, Waterfront where she sells her beautifully authentic range to the public. For now she happily sews in her Port Alfred studio, drawing inspiration from her environment near and far.
