About

Photo of Elaine Luther at the Garrett Museum of Art, her artwork to her right.
Elaine Luther

Elaine Luther is an independent studio artist working with textile fragments to shine a light on issues of women’s labor, lives and rights. She transforms handcrafted textiles with light reactive dye to change how people perceive the items.
 
Her work has shown across the country and in the UK, including at the Garrett Museum of Art, the Jewish Museum Milwaukee, and the libraries and archives at the Bristol Art Museum, Rhode Island and the Henry Sheldon Museum, Vermont.
 
A long time teaching artist, Elaine has taught a wide range of skills over the years and currently teaches shibori dyeing and quilting and garment sewing. She has taught at many art centers, libraries, and for guilds, including Lillstreet Art Center, the Indianapolis Art Center, 20 Neighborhoods with Woman Made Gallery, the Park District of Oak Park and the Chicago Public Library, including at the Harold Washington Library Maker Lab.
 
She has presented speeches at SECAC, Self-Employment in the Arts, FX Chicago, Northern Illinois University, Business of Arts Peoria, and more.  She is a co-founder and member of the MAP Collective.  Elaine is also known for her projects, “Clocking in for Unpaid Labor,” a public participation art project using time cards, and her micro gallery, the Angelica Kauffman Gallery.
 
Publications include the book, Give and Take; articles at Sixty Inches from the Center, Chicago Artist Resource, Moore Women Artists, and the Craft Industry Alliance. She is listed in the Chicago Artist Files and in the Reyerson Library Files at the Art Institute of Chicago. Her work is in the permanent collection of the Kolaj Institute, and the Henry Sheldon Museum and Archives.

Photo by Dulce Rodriquez of XOL Photography.

Statement

Transformation, layers, transparency, beauty, rights and labor.  It could all be summed up, almost, in the quote I printed on a doily, “The reason that men seem more remarkable is that their stories are told,” (Debra Frances White).  I tell women’s stories by using textiles that hint at their past lives, and stories.  I work with beautifully hand-stitched, but deeply unappreciated by society at large, handkerchiefs and doilies.  I transform the experience of these textiles by using light reactive dye to print text, dried plants, or yet more handcrafted lace on top of the vintage doilies.  I’m also sounding the alarm about women’s shocking losses of rights in recent years because, well, it’s shocking, and artists can be change agents.

 

Residencies

Independent Residency, Grand Marias Art Colony, Grand Marais, MN, October 2021

Artist/Mother Art Residency,Virtual/home studio, February 2022

The Artists in the Archive, Virtual Residency with Kolaj Institute, May 2022
with related exhibition at the Henry Sheldon Museum & Library in Middlebury, VT, and book.

Folklore & Collage Residency with Kolaj Institute, Knoxville, TN, March 2022
The group’s artwork created in this residency was published in a book and exhibited in Scotland in September 2023, with Merz Gallery and Kolaj Institute.

Lakeside Inn Arts Residency, Lakeside, MI, April 2023

Exhibitions

Trailside Museum of Natural History, Solo Show, Collected Specimens, River Forest, Illinois, January – March 2026

Oak Park Art League, Group show, Resolutions/Revolutions, Oak Park, Illinois, January – February 2026

AKG @ OPAL, Collaborative micro show, Unfiltered, December 2025 – February 2026

Orland Park Public Library, Orland Park, IL, Solo Show and Exterior Public Art Installation, In a New Light: Valuing Women’s Work, September-October 2025.

Art Reach of Mid Michigan, Mt. Pleasant, MI, Solo Show, August 2025

Oak Park Art League, Group Micro Show, Microcosm, Oak Park, Illinois, May – June 2025

Far Northside (Micro) Gallery, Chicago, Illinois, Solo Show, November 2024-January 2025

CAMP Gallery (Contemporary Art Modern Project), Miami, Florida, October-December 2024

77 Women Pulling at the Threads of Social Discourse, We Got the Power

DankHaus, Power Frauen, Chicago, Illinois, August 2024

DankHaus, You Are Invited, Chicago, Illinois, May 2024

Garrett Museum of Art, Miniatures Conjure Delight, Garrett, Indiana, April-May 2024

Jewish Museum Milwaukee, Women Pulling on the Threads of Social Discourse, August- December 2023

Terrain Biennial, Oak Park, IL, October – November 2023

Outdoor Micro Gallery

Orland Park Public Library, Second Floor Gallery, Orland Park, IL JULY 2023
Solo Show, “Ghost Prints & Shadow Work”

Positive Space Studios, Chicago, IL, May 2023
“This is Your Allowance”

Ignition Project Space, Window Gallery, Chicago, IL, April 2023
Solo Show

Orland Park Public Library, Second Floor Gallery Space, Orland Park, IL, March 2023
“Monsters Show” group showOrland Park Public Library Front Lobby Display Case, JAN 2023, Orland Park, IL
“Clocking in for Unpaid Labor,” group show featuring 50+ works by participants in the project

Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, IL, JAN-MAR 2023
Group Show, “Roe 2.0”

Backspace Gallery, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL, OCT-NOV 2022
Solo Show, “Not a Quilts”

Bethany Art Center, Ossining, NY, MAY-JUN 2022
“IMPACT! Art that Bears Witness”

Lillstreet Art Center, Annex Gallery, MAY 2022, Chicago, IL
Group Show, “Creating Space”

Compassion Factory, Brookfield, IL, May 2022
Solo Show, “Ghost Prints and Shadow Work”

Orland Park Public Library, Orland Park, IL, DEC 2021
2nd Floor Display Case, “Medals That You Wouldn’t Want to Earn”

Orland Park Public Library, Orland Park, IL, NOV-DEC 2021
Front Lobby Display Case, Show of Multiple Micro Galleries

Terrain Biennial, Oak Park, IL, OCT-NOV 2021
Outdoor Micro GalleryMULTIITUDES, AUG 2021, Ontario, Canada
180 Projects

Public Space One, JUL 2021, Iowa City, IA
TOO CUTE!

Small House Gallery, JUL-AUG 2021, London, U.K.
Small House Summer Open

CARDBOARD MONKEY GALLERY, JUN 2021, Greater Manchester, U.K.
Solo Show

Tiny Cat Gallery, JUN 2021, Bristol, U.K.
Solo Show

Studio 659, Whiting, IN, June 2021
Pandemic Show

MATERNOCHRONICS, JUN 2021
Online Show

COVID-19 GLOBAL QUILT, DEC 2020
Included in the virtual global quilt that is a project of Tal Fitzpatrick and Kate Just.

QUARANZINE, SEPT 2020
Featured in an online magazine by Third Estate Art; Blood & Fire Quilts, Chicago, IL

Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, IL, JUN 2020
TOUCH

Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, IL, JULY 2020
HOME

Oak Park Public Library (Maze Branch), Oak Park, IL, JULY 2018
Solo Show, Collage Paintings

Harold Washington Library, Popular Library, Chicago, IL, JAN-MAR 2018
Solo Show, Balance & Tension

Orland Park Public Library, Orland Park, IL, May 2017
Solo Show, Our Ladies of Perpetual Housework

Orland Park Public Library, Orland Park, IL,  SEPT-OCT 2017
Solo Show, Balance & Tension

ROGERS PARK/WEST RIDGE HISTORICAL SOCIETY (in partnership with Roman Susan Gallery), APR-MAY 2017, Chicago, IL
Property

Forest Park Public Library, Forest Park, IL, JULY-SEPT 2017
Solo show, Balance & Tension (all mobiles)

Bottle Rocket Gallery (with Forest Park Public Library), Forest Park, IL, August 2016
ARTISTS 100

SILICON GALLERY, DEC 2015-JAN 2016 Philadelphia, PA
Instashow

NAVE GALLERY, OCT 2015, Boston, MA
Visaural

Forest Park Public Library, Forest Park, IL, JUL – AUG 2015
EXPLORE installation

Self-Emmployment in the Arts, Naperville, IL, FEB 2015
Wall Installation, BEFORE I DIE…

Zenith Art Studios, River Forest, IL, FEB 2015
What’s Love Got to Do With It?

Green Home Experts, Oak Park, IL, FEB 2015
Solo show, Our Ladies of Perpetual Housework

 

Partial List of Publications:

Articles written:

Sixty Inches from the Center, “Elbow Grease: Clocking in for Unpaid Labor (photo essay),” July 2023.
Craft Industry Alliance, “For Artist Liberty Worth, Studio Space and Interns Increase Creative Output,” March 2023.
Craft Industry Alliance, “Business Profile: the Unlikely Road of the Thread Cutterz,” October 2017.
Craft Industry Alliance, “The Ins and Outs of Selling Your Handmade Products with Uncommon Goods,” December 2020.
Moore Women Artists “The Essence of Joy, Combating the Blues with Art,” 2016.*
Moore Women Artists “Tiffany Gholar: Author, Doll Photographer, Painter, Interior Designer,” June 2016*
Moore Women Artists “Mary Ellen Croteau: Artist, Agitator and Environmentalist,” June 2016.*
Moore Women Artists “Residency vs. Motherhood,” June 2016.*
Art Jewelry Magazine November 2008, Project Article Photo Pendant
Art Jewelry Magazine January 2009, Project Article Splat! Pendant
Art Jewelry Magazine, subscriber bonus download Metal Clay Envelope.

* website is no longer online

Artwork included in and/or interviewed in:

UPPERCASE Magazine Issue 58, July 2023.

Cultivate Arts & Education, Cultivate Featured Artist, 2023
Craft Industry Alliance, 9 Tips for Growing Your Instagram Audience from Craft Industry Alliance Members, April 2023.
Professional Artist Magazine, June/July 2018.
Forest Park Review, September 18, 2012.
Studio PMC, Volume 10, Number 3, Fall 2007 Society of Mothers…

Books:
Picture Yourself Creating Metal Clay Jewelry, by Tammy Powley, Gallery section
Artists in the Archives, by Kolaj and Kasini House

Forthcoming books to be published in 2024 and 2025.

 

 

Workshops and Classes Taught:

  • Lillstreet Art Center, Chicago, IL.
  • Indianapolis Art Center, Indianapolis, IN.
  • Chicago Public Library: Harold Washington Library (Maker Lab and Makers on 8); Legler Regional, Chicago, IL
  • Park District of Oak Park, Oak Park, IL.
  • Oak Park Art League, Oak Park, IL.
  • Orland Park Public Library, Orland Park, IL.
  • Forest Park Public Library, Forest Park, IL
  • Hinsdale Center for the Arts, Hinsdale, IL.
  • Wellness House, Hinsdale, IL.
  • 20 Neighborhoods with Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, IL.
  • Marwen Foundation, Chicago, IL.
  • One State Together in the Arts Conference, Springfield, IL.
  • Evanston Art Center, Evanston, IL.
  • Highland Park Art Center, Highland Park, IL
  • Various guilds: CMAG, NWNAG, GLEG.
  • and more!

Sign up!

Join my newsletter list here.