You’d never hang a rug on your wall, right? You might, if that shag was a real work of art.
A local artist is turning carpets into keepsakes. Get the picture? You will!
If Florencia Clement de Grandprey has her way, your next rug might be hanging on your wall.
Florencia Clement de Grandprey (rug addict): “I kept thinking, ‘How can I paint on a larger surface that will still be easily transportable?’ So the next logical step for me was to go on to rugs.”
At her studio in Fort Lauderdale’s New River Inn Museum, the Spanish-born artist’s work is already started before she even picks up a paintbrush.
Florencia Clement de Grandprey: “I kept thinking, ‘How can I paint on a larger surface that will still be easily transportable?’ So the next logical step for me was to go on to rugs.” : “I started painting on rugs and on fabric because I loved the patterns so much. For me it’s like a metaphor for life, where we have to look beyond the surface.”
Using those patterns gets Florencia’s creative juices flowing.
Florencia Clement de Grandprey: “That’s the fun for me. It’s like a puzzle. I have to figure out how I’m going to combine what is already there with my vision.”
Each painting takes about a month to complete. For once, size does not matter here.
Florencia Clement de Grandprey: “There’s no limit to how big if I can get a space to paint it in. The largest one I did was 10 and a half feet by 8 feet, and that was a rug that I did last year.”
You can tell by her work that she finds faces fascinating.
Florencia Clement de Grandprey: “I always try to represent different ethnicities, nationalities, just different looks, because I feel that everyone needs to be represented.”
Her latest series, called “Guardians of Sacred Space,” was her way of fighting back against the pandemic.
Florencia Clement de Grandprey: “When I was at home last year I thought, ‘What can I contribute? What is the best thing that I can do to empower people? To remind us of our inner warriors?'”
When she’s not creating colorful carpets, Florencia is also producing what she calls mixed media paintings. That’s when she uses fabric samples to give each work a 3-D effect.
Florencia Clement de Grandprey: “It’s more than just paint on a canvas. I paint the hair and flesh, but then I add all these other materials that are not normally used in paintings.”
If you expect to get a family portrait on your rug of choice, you can forget it. She says that’s not her style.
Florencia Clement de Grandprey: “That would be a nightmare.”
If you’re interested in hanging one of Florencia’s carpet creations on your wall, click here.
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