Ellen Kochansky

"Emotional and physical energy are embedded in all the elements of our lives. As we squander the irreplaceable, we ignore our own innate ability to live within our means, and to make graceful use of what is right within reach. We have what we need."

Ellen Kochansky is a textile artist that works with individuals and groups on collective projects that honor history and suggest future directions. Commitment, a book-based piece for Charlotte's Mercy Hospital, chronicles the hospital's transformation to more patient-centerd care. Scrapbook is an installation for the new headquarters of SCANA, using contributed tools, equipment, and uniforms from the energy company's employees. Mill Memory, a sculpture for the Hub City Writers Project in Spartanburg, SC, used the blueprints, shuttles and floorboards from demolished textile mills. She has been a Trustee of the American Crafts Council, a board member of American Craft Enterprises, and is founding director of the Rensing Center, a non-profit international residency program. Her work resides in the permanent collections of The White House, The Mint Museum, the Museum of Arts and Design in NY, and Emory University in Atlanta. As a teacher, facilitator and juror, she has traveled widely and exhibited internationally, most recently in Orvieto, Italy.

Ellen Kochansky's artistic practice is rooted in her experience as a textile artist, designer and quilter. With a firm grounding in traditional craft, Kochansky's work has always stretched those definitions to include experimental fiber and mixed-media art, public and private commissions as well as community-based and site-specific installations. For her company, EKO, she designed and manufactured custom quilts from 1989 to 2004.

In a career spanning over 30 years, Ellen Kochansky has actively promoted the arts, the preservation and extension of craft traditions, and environmentally responsible practices, and continues to foster emerging artists through teaching and mentorship for all ages. To further these goals, she has launched a non-profit residency program called The Rensing Center.

She has been an American Craft Council Trustee (1989-1993), a National Endowment for the Arts American Canvas Panelist (1997), and a founding Director of Ripple Effect Sustainable Design Group (1999-2001). She has twice been chosen Craft Fellow by the South Carolina Arts Commission. She serves on the Pickens County Cultural Commission and on the City of Clemson's Green Ribbon Commission. Ellen has shared her experience through teaching and workshops, including Penland, Arrowmont, and the Innovation Institute (McColl Center, Charlotte, NC). She as served as a juror for national art shows such as Cherry Creek, Evanston, and American Craft Council, as well as South Carolina's Verner Awards. Her work is included in The Mint Museum, The American Museum of Art and Design in NY, and the White House Collection, and she has been cited in various book, articles, and television programs, notably CBS Sunday Morning and the book Six Continents of Quilts. A list of exhibitions, commissions, awards and more can be found on her website: www.ekochansky.com.

Your Day, radio interview
http://cufan.clemson.edu/psaradio/YDPodcast/YD090528.mp3

Embedded Energy blog
http://artbysusanlenz.blogspot.com/2009/02/embedded-energy-by-ellen-kochansky.html

Kochansky website
http://www.ekochansky.com/

Artful Home page
https://www.artfulhome.com/artist/938.html

Southern Artistry
http://www.southernartistry.com/portfolio.cfm?id=263&last=curious

Orvieto class
http://www.adventuresinitaly.net/f09kochansky.html

Tasmania show
http://www.gallery71.com.au/artists/temenos-studios/118-ellen-kochansky

Bernie Herman interview
http://www.allianceforamericanquilts.org/qsos/interview.php?pbd=qsos-a0a2p6-a

Embedded Energy photographs
http://bruceobservationtower.blogspot.com/2009/04/ellen-kochansky-embedded-energy-exhibit.html

Mill Memory article
http://www.spartanburgartmuseum.org/Exhibitions/Past_Exhibits/03-01-TextileBurde/Kochansky.htm

David Welch brain tumor commission
http://www.38lemon.com/tumorart_beyond.php

Artists, Collections and Obsessions, Lynne Perrella http://books.google.com/books?id=rWoSOisjhgcC&pg=PA54&lpg=PA54&dq=ellen+kochansky&source=bl&ots=rWfg42Qawm&sig=Jg4ULe10jcRAScvyxFGfKSuzqLA&hl=en&ei=YRSQSvCoD9TktgesrPnOBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7#v=onepage&q=ellen%20kochansky&f=false