Label Type
Artist CommentaryLabel
I am extremely interested in how an idea gets a physical form. The only way I can start to understand this is in my own work, observing my own thought processes. While many of my quilts directly treat the theme of balance vs chaos for example, or the complexities of a landscape, they are also indirectly about how the ideas develop as I make choices. The choice of how I will dye the cloth has more and more frequently resulted in experimenting with various printing processes, particularly monoprinting because of the unique unexpected marks that result. My monoprinting process with thickened dye, printed from various kinds of surfaces guarantees that I get marks and textures I that could never paint.
After the dyeing, I transform the surface again with stitching. This next layer of the design is determined by the type and color of thread and by the density and pattern of the stitches. Now, I use mostly machine quilting, and occasionally hand stitches that a machine cannot make. I take into consideration where I want the surface to flatten and where I want it to swell. I make decisions as I work, drawing freehand with the needle through all the thicknesses. I work on it as long as I know what I want to do next.
My fascination is with how the layers of work influence each other visually from both far and near.Label Type
Technique or ProcessLabel
Monoprint with thickened dye on silk, machine and hand stitched.
Raw silk jacquard, Procion dyes, cotton batt, various threads.
