UNTITLED

This dynamic and dramatic work is a collaborative effort of Judith Scott and Donald Mitchell. The painted and wrapped tambourine was created for and donated to the 2004 American Folk Art Museum Spring Benefit in New York and it showcases the trademarks of both artists. Born in San Francisco, Mitchell began creating paintings and works on paper in about 1987, when he was accepted into the Creative Growth studio in Oakland, California. His early creations are obsessively filled with crosshatched fields, obscuring any forms or figures underneath. As his work evolved, Mitchell's densely crafted compositions began to reveal the hidden imagery below. In this work, Mitchell’s hand can be seen in the multitude of 'crowd' figures in pen and paint that cover the flat surfaces of the tambourine. Judith Scott then built upon Mitchell’s work by using yarn to create one of her signature wrapped creations. Fiber artist Scott is renowned for her intricately wrapped sculptures that transform everyday found objects into cocoon-like abstracted forms. Delicately and carefully enveloping her chosen supports with layers of yarn, cloth and other fibers, Scott’s sculptures reveal a painstakingly caring and laborious process through which she engaged with and interpreted the world around her. Born with Downs Syndrome, the artist lost her hearing early in life. She also joined Creative Growth and artmaking became her main method of communication and her legacy. Together, Mitchell and Scott created a magnetic piece that expresses the artists as both individuals and as collaborators.