Artquilts - Works in Fiber

“During the 20 years between 1988 and 2008, I worked professionally as an artist creating one-of-a-kind designs into art for the wall made of fabric. All of my work has been influenced by my travels and photography. It has been my interest to portray, through the use of color, an impression of the cultures that I have researched, observed, and photographed. I am fueled by finding similarities between cultures and, from that discovery, creating artwork that builds new connections, communications, and creativities.

Determining and developing a passion is the first step in my artistic process, and there was never any doubt that I would focus on worldly destinations. When I am not on a trip, I am reading about the next adventure. If I have learned anuthing about making artwork in these twenty years, it has been the lessons learned while researching, traveling and photographing. By studying books, maps, and the internet, I do most of the travel planning myself. The preparation and education is a big chunk of what I get out of the whole process. It will always be a passion to study geography, cultures, art and history, cuisine, and how to get from here to there. My joy in travel leads me directly to making art, as, from passion, artistic ideas form naturally.

Recording is my second step which, for the most part, means a camera for me. The use of photography allows me to create abstract landscapes inspired by places all over the world. Using the camera as a composition guide has been a major part of my artistic process. I had little interest in photography before 1988 other than family memories. I bought my first Nikon in 1990 since, as an artist, I was required to produce a portfolio with images of my work. As I progressed through the discovery of how I come to make art, photography played a larger and more important role. There is something very satisfying in setting up a photo and clicking the shutter that makes me feel that I own the essence of the captured view and can take it with me.

Designing follows as the third step. Initially, photoquilts served as design models but, with experience, I found many ways to create designs, from simple sketches to Photoshop.

The fourth step is making the color. Color is very important in my fiber pieces, and I hand-dye fabric in graduated palettes, adding silks to create a dramatic contemporary statement. The resulting color shifts are more representative of painting techniques than traditional work in fiber. In choosing a color palette and creating it myself, I am able to assemble an atmosphere or feeling about a specific place.

It has been my procedure to work in a series, creating four to five artquilts around a central theme. I like to take two ideas that have potential for recombination and make a third which is my own.

In this book, I show how I have come from there to here, one artquilt at a time.”