If you know me, you know I don't sew. To be specific, I don't use sewing machines. I have my mother's old one, and I can, but I don't. I'm perfectly comfortable sewing on a button, or repairing a torn hem (though these days, I'm more likely to do it with fusible bond than a needle and thread), but I'm definitely sewing machine averse. Perhaps that's why I've always been intrigued by fiber artists, especially contemporary quilters. As I've blogged about before,
here, one of the best books I've found which highlights the work of 40 quilt artists is:
Masters Art Quilts, Major Works by Leading Artists. I even love the trim size of the book; it's 8"x9", and the interior design is exquisite. I'm inspired by the work of many of the artists featured inside, including
Carol Bryer Fallert,
Miriam Nathan-Roberts, and
Anne Woringer.
I'm also inspired by the work of contemporary African American quilters.
Sonji Hunt's work is a wondrous blend of color, movement and texture, and I'd love to meet her someday (we've been reading each other's blogs for about 3 years now). And
Adrienne Cruz's work is what sparked my current path of work. I found her on Flickr (while procrastinating...ah, working on collecting sources of inspiration!). She and 62 other artists are featured in the book
Spirits of the Cloth, Contemporary African American Quilts. In fact, that's Adrienne's piece, entitled
Divine Guardian on the cover. She creates lush fields of color, using various fabric patterns and elements such as metals and shells. Her quilts tell a story and evoke a response.
So, all of this visual immersion in quilts got me thinking and creating in my head (isn't that where it all begins?!). My first quilt-inspired piece is this one, as yet unnamed. It measures 12"x24", and is done with hand painted papers, decoupaged to the MDF substrate. Yes, it
is a mirror--I've covered the actual mirror with black paper, so you can't see the reflection of my very messy studio! I liked the process of creating this piece, and from it, I went on to do 'Kindred Connections' which incorporates polymer pieces and feathers. You can see it
here. Soon, it'll be on its way to its new owner, as I blogged about earlier,
here.
These two pieces were the beginnings. I'll show you the next two mirrors in the series in another post. Meanwhile, I'm searching for a name for the series...it feels like it should have one.
Any ideas?
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