Inside Central
The official blog of the University of Central Oklahoma
  • Share An Idea
  • Connecting Stories
  • University of Central Oklahoma

About

Peak is a modern grid based WordPress theme, boasting a masonry grid that adapts to any screen size or device thrown at it. The grid auto-populates, but you have full control of any new tiles you want to put in there. Add cards to highlight different categories, authors, testimonials, pages – or just about anything else you can imagine.

[themify_button style=”black outline rect” link=”https://themify.me/themes/peak”] Buy Now [/themify_button]

Recent Posts

  • Headshot of Gary WolfUCO Symposium 2022 Keynote Speaker
    March 24, 2022
  • Graphic with words "UCO Symposium 2022 - Modern Mosaic"Three Presentations to Look Forward to at the UCO Symposium
    March 24, 2022
  • JuneteenthJuneteenth: A Brief History
    June 17, 2021
a rug made of red dirt covers the floor
sneese September 18, 2018
art, artists, embroidery, exhibit, kelly rogers, melton gallery, red dirt, rena detrixhe, rug, tapestry
Like 0 Thanks! You've already liked this
Alumni, UCO

Across Embroiders: Melton Gallery Exhibit Explores Nontraditional Embroidery

When you think of embroidery, you might picture quaint tea towels, stitched with inspirational quotes, surrounded by bouquets of flowers, or a cherished baby blanket, lovingly sewn by a doting grandmother. However, “Poetic Embroidery,” the current show at Central’s Melton Gallery hopes to challenge that notion, showcasing what embroidery means in an entirely different light.

“Poetic Embroidery” displays two large-scale installations, each representing an unconventional approach to textiles. The use of unique materials within each work emphasizes the careful, meditative process of the creation.

a close-up photo of a "rug" made out of red dirt
“Red Dirt Rug” features Oklahoma red dirt, shaped like a rug.

The first featured work, “Red Dirt Rug,” by artist Rena Detrixhe, is a decorative rug unlike any other. Formed from refined red soil, gathered in Oklahoma, the rug is constructed by carefully layering and smoothing the earth. Detrixhe embellishes the rug with stamps created from the soles of shoes.

Female figures embroidered with black and pink thread.
“Tales of Woah” features figures of small girls, highlighted in pink.

The exhibit brings Detrixhe’s work together in conversation with Kelly Rogers’ piece “Tales of Woah,” a hanging tapestry covered with embroidered renderings of Oklahoma girls. One-third of these figures bear a pink mark of ink, in homage to the one-in-three girls in Oklahoma County who suffer sexual abuse by the age of 18.

“These installations occupy their space profoundly and intently,” said Kyle Cohlmia, curator of exhibitions at the Melton Gallery. “Kelly’s tapestry highlights small portraits of young girls that collectively hang in a limitless space, exposing the back of the canvas, messy veins to a detailed and rendered exterior, while Rena’s rug, created by red dirt found from the Oklahoma landscape, patterned into a piece that we typically see in our interior homes, conveys a conversation with each tiny piece of soil.”

Want to hear directly from artists Detrixhe and Rogers? Join them at an Artists’ Talk at 5:30 p.m. Sept 20 at the Melton Gallery. The talk will be followed by a Q&A with the audience.

A woman draws in red dirt on the floor.
Detrixhe completing a red dirt piece.

Detrixhe is a Tulsa Artist Fellow whose solo exhibitions continue to be featured in museums across the nation, from the Philbrook Museum of Art and Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center, to the Abigail Ogilvy Gallery in Boston, Massachusetts and the Center for Craft, Creativity and Design in Asheville, North Carolina.

A woman poses in front of a tapestry she created.
Rogers posing with her work.

Rogers is a UCO alumna and one of five Oklahoma artists chosen by the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition to be featured in the 2017 Art 365 exhibition.

“As humans, we constantly weave our personal memories together into an embellished and complete life,” Cohlmia said. “Through the use of thread and natural material, ‘Tales of Woah’ and ‘Red Dirt Rug’ apply the process of literal and metaphorical embroidery to create pieces that captivate, revere and conserve our collective stories.”

“Poetic Embroidery” will be displayed in the Melton Gallery through Sept. 27.

The Melton Gallery is free and open to the public 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays and on Fridays by appointment.
For more information about the Melton Gallery, visit www.meltongallery.com.

Related posts:

Taking Paws to De-Stress
UCO Students Dance Their Way to a Better World
New to UCO: Automatic Scholarships for Qualifying Students!
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
We Built this Campus on B-Rock’n’Roll: A Look Around UCO Good Sport 101
Headshot of Gary Wolf
UCO

UCO Symposium 2022 Keynote Speaker

Graphic with words "UCO Symposium 2022 - Modern Mosaic"
UCO

Three Presentations to Look Forward to at the UCO Symposium

News, UCO

Juneteenth: A Brief History

Search

Subscribe for Updates

Enter your email address:

Articles by Category

  • Alumni
  • Athletics
  • Bronchos to Know
  • Commencement
  • Coronavirus Updates
  • Edmond Community
  • First-Year Experience
  • Housing & Dining
  • International
  • Leadership Central
  • Music
  • News
  • SPB/Campus Activities
  • STLR
  • Student Involvement
  • Success Central
  • Transformative Learning
  • Travel
  • UCO
  • UCOSA
  • Weather Alert
  • What's It Like To Be

Latest Tweets

  • As Disability Pride Month comes to a close, we would like to share the highlights of the 2022 Endeavor Games. We we… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
    6 months ago
  • UCO junior Beyonce Hammond is ready to change the world! Hammond found out this April that she was selected as a Tr… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
    6 months ago
→ Follow me

Featured Posts

  • March 11, 2020: Letter from the President, UCO’s Response to Coronavirus
  • gus-2Taking Paws to De-Stress

Recent Comments

  • Mike Schmitz: Great story!! My wife works for Cowan Engineering. I know J…
  • Sarah McLain: Awesome! Go, Jordan, go!! 💪👏…
  • Ariel West: UCO has policies and procedures in place to address the med…

Blog Tools

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org
© Inside Central 2023

UCO DISCLAIMER STATEMENT: The views, opinions, and conclusions expressed in this page are those of the author or organization and not necessarily those of The University of Central Oklahoma or its officers and trustees. The content of this page has not been reviewed or approved by The University of Central Oklahoma and the author or organization is solely responsible for its content. It is the policy of the university to abide by and follow federal and state laws. Outbound links, such as third party websites or personal pages of UCO's students, faculty and staff represent individual views and do not necessarily reflect the views and/or policies of the university. The university is not responsible for the content of these pages or any links that you may follow from this server beyond this point. The statements and communications of the bloggers on the University of Central Oklahoma website do not represent a statement of the university's official position or policy.