Bill Thelen is an artist, curator, friend, collaborator and founder of LUMP Gallery in downtown Raleigh. I like to say that his work and exhibitions take a can opener to my brain, opens it up, and reminds me not to get stuck in my own mind.
In high school, LUMP felt like my portal to the bigger, wider, less normal world outside of Raleigh. And now I’m having fun with him on the Gallery Board. The two of us have been collaborating on projects for years.
A few years ago he came to the shop and I taught him how to use a sewing machine to draw on fabrics. Another time, we made a huge wall hanging quilt piece together for his show at 21C.
Our latest is this series of 1/1 100% cotton denim, natural paper drawing notebooks and fabric clutches. Leather patches hand-sketched by Bill Thelen. Each piece is one-of-a-kind, created in a way that is more art than ‘product’.
