Quilting As An Art

I love to dream and explore new ways to study my surroundings and develop a greater connection to it. Drawing and quilting are avenues in which I more deeply explore what makes me curious and they become a language in which I reflect what I learn.
The underlying theme of my creative endeavors and pursuits is the exploration of “making.” I’m constantly curious about what invites people and nature to grow and thrive; and I’m a hands on learner and producer. I feel a greater connection to my surroundings when I’ve had a hand in making or investigating their form and function. Quilting is one process in which I deeply engage with my ideas and reflections on many levels. The process can be different for each quilt too, it really depends on the origin of my inspiration. Sometimes it’s a view, concept, idea or space; then other times its a fabric color or texture that inspires me. Regardless of where I begin, holistically there is a level of engaging with my ideas on paper and with the fabric. I use colored pencils that break down ideas into their rawest form. I diagram various relationships and see how they interact together. Engaging with the fabric is incredibly fun too. I get to see how colors respond to other colors and I love to brainstorm a stippling pattern that will compliment the fabric and convey the theme of the quilt.

I have two investigative and creative series of quilts here: Natural Landscapes & Abstracted Animals

Abstracted Animals

I am incredibly inspired by Charlie Harper. His abstracted depictions of animals and geometric shapes are a unique style that is so beautiful. After looking through one of his books, I was inspired to investigate how this idea of abstracting forms could translate to fabric. With these two quilts, I am exploring the contrast of textures and textiles as the form of the animal is broken down but built together by an array of colors and shapes.

Natural Landscapes

Each quilt has a unique texture with a palette uniquely its own. The stippling is as purposeful to the quilt as wrinkles to an elephant. Each quilt depicts an abstracted landscape, investigating its raw form and portraying it through a new man-made texture of the textiles. The purpose of each piece of art is to explore the visual textures that come from the fabric of the subject. Textures and textiles can be more alike than we think, the beauty is when all of it can live in harmony.