Burien Arts invites you to meet Danny Mansmith at the opening reception for a new show of his work, Tuesday, January 9, 2018, from 6:00-7:30 PM at the Burien Community Center, 14700 6th Avenue SW, Burien, WA.
The exhibit runs January 9 through January 26, and is open to the public during Center hours, 8:30 AM-8:00 PM, Monday – Thursday and 8:30-5:00 Friday.
Here’s more about Danny Mansmith (thanks to the Burien Arts Newsletter):
Danny grew up in the Chicago suburbs and was particularly close to his grandmother, who sewed his clothes while he was growing up. “My grandma was a tough Polish lady with a big heart who was also an artist, but would never have said that. She nurtured me with love and exposed me to art, giving me the ability to see possibilities in things around us.” Danny said.
Danny always wanted to be an artist and went to art school for a year, but found it was not for him. He moved to Chicago in the early 90s and, inspired by his grandmother, taught himself to use a sewing machine. In addition to making handmade clothes, he taught himself to draw with the sewing machine and constructed dolls and sculptures out of found objects, covering them with stitched designs.
Danny has had a shop on Etsy since 2006 where you can see more of his creations as you can on his website as well.
“Working with my hands has saved my life,” he says. “Instead of being the fastest or the smartest I found my strength, sanctuary and cushion from the world in making art. I want to push myself to make art with the things around me, to be resourceful and to follow my heart’s inspiration,” he explained.
“Making something wearable, drawing with sharpies or the sewing machine, sculpting, to creating installations that incorporate all of these elements has become my spirituality – my survival,” he continued.
Danny now lives in Burien.