After I posted Cayce Zavaglia’s embroidered portraits last week I found Linda Behar’s miniature textile art and knew I wanted to share it with you. Then the fun began. As I was researching Linda Behar, textile artist, I discovered Linda Behar, glass artist. Both artists create compelling work worthy of your attention.
Linda Behar, textile artist
Combining photography skills with her love of textile art, Behar first prints a photograph onto cotton broadcloth and then stitches the image with colored threads.
Autumn Leaves I
Each piece of art is no larger than the 4″ x 6″ photograph it represents and includes images of the salt marshes she is drawn to; her favorite time of year and cultural glimpses from her travels.
A Linda Behar original – at first glance it looks like she is holding a photograph.
Salt Marsh II, 3 7/8″ x 5 3/4″, Cotton Embroidery
“Since 1993 I have been taking photographs and then rendering them in embroidery. My pieces are small – often about 4” x 6”, a size and format that echoes the photos on which they are based. I build the image stitch by stitch, criss-crossing and overlapping thousands of flecks of color. My colored stitches, laid side by side or atop one another, are like the dabs of paint of Monet or Seurat – pointillistic color mixing. But the Impressionists wanted to portray a fleeting moment in time, whereas I want to convey a sense of timelessness.” Linda Behar
See the full portfolio on her website and her Flickr site.
More on the Mobilia Gallery website.
Linda Behar, glass artist
Trained as a civil engineer, the Venezuela native always wanted to be an artist. Eventually she switched careers, studying photography, blacksmithing and metal casting before finding her niche – glass.
From the series “Houses With Soul”
Tree House, pate de verre, mixed media
Behar studied at Pilchuk Glass School and the Penland School of Crafts to learn the glass casting and pate de verre techniques that dominate her work today. All of her previous training – in school and life – show up in her glass and mixed media art.
From the series “Two To Make A Home”
Leaf + Flower, cast glass, 20”x12”x12”
From the series “Houses With Soul”
Nest House, pate de verre, mixed media
“Considering that art is somehow a reflection of our society, I feel that my main objective as an artist is to create pieces that communicate a positive message. My work emphasizes that even in this troubled world, life is still full of meaningful things and joy. I want to show the precious and the beauty of our existence, contradicting some of the actual tendencies of the contemporary visual field.” Linda Behar
See Behar’s work from 1998-2009 on her website.
More current work here.
Two artists, two talented individuals, two voices, two mediums, one name. Time for a collaboration? Linda Behar, meet Linda Behar.
