Artists' Statement
SisterBloc was created by two sisters collaborating to create ornamental levity from found tin and other objects.
Cookie tins, old signs, gas cans, vintage tea boxes, and beer trays are dismembered and reassembled to begin their new lives as, say...sweet floral drop earrings, or subversive bomb-toting bunny bracelets. It gives great joy to create jewelry with color, wit, and irony by recombining the commercial and ornamental elements of lithographic tin.
To make the jewelry comfortable to wear, a backing of silver or brass is soldered to the steel. The collaged assembly proceeds in a frenzy of sawing and riveting. Attention to detail, both visual and mechanical, is what sets these “jewels” apart.
Although harvesting these items from the savage urban landscape requires grit, vigilance, and determination, at the end of the day the SisterBloc mission still feels like the treat of cherry popsicles after school.
Resume: Cindy Sumner
Shows
2008
“Arte Fresca,” Facere Jewelry Art Gallery, Seattle, Washington.
2007
“Heart of the Matter,” Facere Jewelry Art Gallery, Seattle, Washington.
“Dia de los Muertos,” Obsidian Gallery, Tucson, Arizona.
“Pins For Men,” Facere Jewelry Art Gallery, Seattle, Washington.
2006
“Dia de los Muertos,” Obsidian Gallery, Tucson, Arizona.
“Playful Distractions,” Taboo Studio, San Diego, California.
2005
“Recuerdos, Rememberances,” Obsidian Gallery, Tucson, Arizona.
“Wherefore Art Thou?,” invitational, Etherton Gallery, Tucson, Arizona.
2004
Artist Invitational, (SisterBloc), Obsidian Gallery, Tucson, Arizona.
“Underpants,” invitational, Etherton Gallery, Tucson, Arizona.
“Here I Am,” invitational, Obsidian Gallery, Tucson, Arizona.
Artist Invitational, Obsidian Gallery, Tucson, Arizona.
2002
“Annual Jewelry Exhibition,” Obsidian Gallery, Tucson, Arizona.
2001
“Re-Visions: Art from Recycled Materials,” Tohono Chul Park, Tucson, Arizona.
“Flora,” Obsidian Gallery, Tucson, Arizona.
“Fauna,” Obsidian Gallery, Tucson, Arizona.
“Dia de los Muertos: Annual Invitational Exhibition,” Obsidian Gallery, Tucson, Arizona.
2000
“Annual Jewelry Exhibition,” Obsidian Gallery, Tucson, Arizona.
“Tucson In Space,” Obsidian Gallery, Tucson, Arizona.
“Dia de los Muertos: Annual Invitational Exhibition,” Obsidian Gallery, Tucson, Arizona.
1999
“Annual Jewelry Exhibition,” Obsidian Gallery, Tucson, Arizona.
1997
“Death a Round Trip Ticket,” Central Arts Collective, Tucson, Arizona.
“Art/Wear,” Tohono Chul Park, Tucson, Arizona.
1988
“Student Art Exhibition,” University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona.
“Year of the Undergraduate,” BFA Show, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona.
Education
1989
BFA Metalsmithing and Jewelry, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona.
Award of Distinction, Student Art Exhibition, University of Arizona.
Honorable Mention, Student Art Exhibition, University of Arizona.
1983
Scripps College, Claremont, California.
Resume: Wendy Sumner
Biography
Born in Tucson, 1968. Lives and works in Tucson, and Vancouver, British Columbia
Exhibitions
2004
"Maritime," one person show, Three Falk Gallery, Tucson, Arizona.
Artist's Invitational, (SisterBloc), Obsidian Gallery, Tucson, Arizona.
Open Studios Tour, Tucson, Arizona.
2003
Artist's Invitational, Obsidian Gallery, Tucson, Arizona.
El Centro Cultural de las Americas, Tucson, Arizona.
Open Studios Tour, Tucson, Arizona.
"Festival of Life", Fundraiser, Southern Arizona Aids Foundation, Tucson, Arizona.
2002
Arizona Biennial '03, Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson, Arizona.
"Homenaje al Padre Kino: A Cultural Exchange Among the United States, Mexico, and Italy"
Segno, Trento, Italy (August, 2002)
Obregon, Sonora, Mexico (October, 2002)
Guymas, Sonora, Mexico (October, 2002)
Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico (November, 2002)
Caborca, Sonora, Mexico (December, 2002)
Magdalena, Sonora, Mexico (March, 2003)
"The Self Portrait: Group Invitational", Etherton Gallery, Tucson, Arizona.
"Festival of Life", Fundraiser, Southern Arizona Aids Foundation, Tucson, Arizona.
2001
"Art In Touch", Desert Museum, Tucson, Arizona.
2000
"Presencia Artistica de Arizona en Sonora", Instituto Sonorense Tecnologico de Sonora, y Ciudad Obregon, Mexico.
1999
"For Women", Arts Collective, Boston, Massachusetts.