Inspirations: Christine Mauersberger

Greetings on the first day of March!!!  I'm delighted to post here the second in the monthly series, Inspirations, which presents the work of artists that truly inspire me.  It's been a delight to get to know Christine Mauersberger through her thoughtful responses to my questions and the images of her work are certainly an inspiration for me...hope they will be for you as well.

Wall Fall, 111"wide x 12' long

Can you briefly describe your background....how did you come to be a maker and have you always worked with stitching?

Throughout my life, I have been an observer of people, surroundings and nature. My first grade teacher told me that I was an artist and I believed her. In high school, my art teacher taught me to weave and helped me take classes at the Cleveland Institute of Art. When I was 20, I studied 19^th century American weaving at a little private school in VT. Life changes ensued and I had to earn a living over making art. In Jan. 2009, I quit my job as the assistant art curator at a major local hospital. I told myself that I didn’t want to do anything that didn’t make me happy. I started to draw small marks in my sketchbook using a red marker. These drawings were pleasing and meditative. Soon these marks started to create a formal language for me. I realized that I could daydream about places(both real and imagined) & allow the marks to evoke my movement through those places. Those drawings wanted to jump off the page to become stitched marks on fabric. Thus, my hand-stitching practice began.

Mind Map, 40" x 41", hand stitched silk/wool thread on linen

Can you talk about your creative practice....maybe in terms of flow, where you work, when.

I am glad you used the word, flow, as it does define the meditative state that occurs when I work. When I stitch on linen, I cannot help but to want to stick a needle in the fabric. Linen has a beautiful hand where it calls my fingers to want to hold it and move across its surface with thread. Almost at once, my mind goes into a zone where I feel the same when I meditate or do yoga. The stitching is almost automatic and without much thought as to where the thread goes.  I do a fair amount of mark-making in my sketchbook and I take pictures of anything that sparks my interest. These marks on paper and the photos inform my brain and set the stage for the stitching. Just like musician might practice music for hours, I practice marks on paper before I put needle & thread to fabric.

I work seated with linen in front of me on an ironing board. I adjust the board to be a level to meet my body at a comfortable height. The board works to hold the weight of the material off my body and allows me to move about as I might like.

For smaller works, I sit in a comfortable upholstered chair or on my sofa with the fabric supported by a flat surface held on top of my lap. I do not use an embroidery hoop.

I wish I could say that I work at the same time each day, this would be my optimal practice. What happens now is that I try to keep one day sacred for stitching and then stitch whenever else I can.

I could be off base, but it seems to make that anyone involved in the slow processes of mark making must enjoy the meditative quality....anything you'd like to share in this area?

You’re correct. To hand stitch with purpose is to become quiet and contemplative. It is my intent to become calm enough to be encased in an altered reality while I stitch.

I've been seeing your facebook entries and the wonderful food you've been preparing....could you talk about your new dining habits and how it is integrating into your life!

I’ve always loved to cook and to bake. More recently, I have taken an active role to become educated about my health by becoming fully engaged in eating foods that are beneficial for detoxification and promote good living. I want to eat satisfying, tasty, nurturing meals so I started to eat a Raw Food diet combined with a Whole food diet. I eliminated ‘white’ foods, starches, sugars, high carbs and low-nutrient foods from my lifestyle.

I do CrossFit about 3 times/week. If you’re not familiar with it. Google it, find a CrossFit box and begin the best darn work out you’ve ever experienced in your life. It is addictive. I can deadlift 245#, jump up on boxes, do squats, situps, pushups, swing heavy kettlebells and run a mile for a cool-down…to name but a few of my skills. Did I mention that I am 51 years old?

Any Favorite books, music you'd like to share....

I’m currently listening to DJ and record producer,  Kascade, and can never get enough the ambient and electronica music pulled together by a man named TC in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. His podcast is called Spacemusic and I’ve been listening since 2005.

I played harp in my 20’s and love modern classical music written by composers such as Debussy and Erik Satie.

I listen to a full-deck of NPR and PRS programming. From Terry Gross’s Fresh Air to Diane Rehm and Studio 360. And I do listen to Howard Stern.

Guide, 20" x 21", dismantle wool skirt from thrift store, felt, eco-dyed silk patch, silk & wool thread

Where do you find inspiration (or through whom?!)

I know several women-business owners who are doing exactly what they want to do. One friend started a business upcycling spent architectural samples to pass them onto local artists and art teachers, rather than to go to landfill. Another friend started a skin care salon where she sells and provides services using organic skin care products. Another man friend rehabs sacred statues and opened the Museum of Devine Statues, he's also a makeup artist and is the go-to person for makeup that makes one look fresh, clean and lovely.

All these people inspire me to create artwork as I am compelled to do  & to take it seriously.

I can give you 50 more people who inspire me. Most are artists themselves. All are incredibly devoted to their work.

There are almost too many contemporary 20^th c. artists that inspire me, here are but a few: Agnes Martin, Louise Bourgeois, Robert Irwin, Marina Abramovic, Mark Bradford, & Beatrice Coron

The inspiration for my artwork comes self-analysis of what I think, see, hear, do, and dream.

If you were to have a small dinner gathering and could invite any group of folks from history....who would you gather around the table?

Great question!

Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Women’s Suffrange Pioneer

Margaret Sanger, Birth Control pioneer

Eleanor Roosevelt

And Louise Bourgeios

Affliction, 8.5" x 12", linen, silk & wool, commercial embroidery thread

I just fell in love with Christine's work the first time I saw it online a couple of years ago. Who knows how we come across someone's work....that's the beauty of the web.  I'm glad I found her, though, and I'm so happy to learn more about her background and process.  You can find Christine on Facebook and she also has a wonderful blog here.