tapestries
ode to rex
ode to rex #1 - 5 • 17" x 60" • sold
i am a big fan of the artist rex ray. my first series was influenced by his colorful, intricate paper collages, and my latest series is influenced by him. it might not be the last.
more specifically, influenced by the piece that adorns my phone case. yes, i have a copy of a rex ray collage on my phone case.
in the piece is a pedal shape which has a striped half and a solid half. i wanted to play with that.
these pieces are about color and texture. they are about fun and joy and play. they are a love letter to rex ray.
love child
love child • 60" x 40" • sold
love child #3 • 20" x 60" • sold
love child #2 • 42" x 22"
a lovely family stumbled into an open studio and we immediately connected. a few weeks later they asked for a commission. i learned their likes and dislikes, visited them at their home and got to work, but inspiration lagged.
on a trip to nyc, i saw a lone ruth asawa wire sculpture framed by a window in the witney. i had my inspiration.
as the piece bloomed with color and texture, i was reminded of rex ray's intricate, colorful and fun collages. i sought out some of his pieces for more inspiration.
i like to think of this series as the felt love child of ruth asawa and rex ray.
sum parts
sum parts • 48" x 36" • sold
sum parts #2 • 6'6" x 6' • sold
sum parts suzanne • 68" x 24" • sold
sum parts #11 • 48" x 40" • sold
sum parts #17 • 13" x 48"
when i started working in felt, a dear friend - kb - generously commissioned a piece from me. after some discussion about what she wanted - a little of this and a little of that - this series was born. in the original piece i used scraps from old pieces that had already been stitched. this gave each cell its own personality. when it all came together, the tapestry felt eclectic, playful and balanced.
when kb saw the final product, her therapist's mind saw the myriad parts of a self, stitched together to create a whole being. this concept continues to inspire me to create more wholes that are made up of unique parts.
remnants
remnants corey • 20" x 24"
remnants #6 • 15" x 19" • sold
remnants #9 • 30" x 34" • sold
about 90% of the felt i buy is either remnant or end-of-bolt. i am worried about waste, so making my pieces out of someone else's dregs appeals to me.
as i create and experiment, i end up with a lot of scraps which i collect to use in future projects. as i said, i worry about waste.
the remnants series was born of this concern. i found myself with lots of same-colored circles in my scrap bin. as i pieced them together, i found the the products to be both elegant and quirky. the elegance in their monochromatic and clean nature and quirky in the shapes that came out of the fitted circles.
i felt that my successful attempts occurred when the pieces achieved a sense of balance.
pods
pods • 2' x 6'
pods #3 • 12" x 48" • sold
pods #2 • 2'6" x 9'3" • sold
pods detail
i stole the pod from quilter sherri lynn wood. (my daughter tells me i should say i was inspired by wood, but who would i be kidding?) i found it in a book of modern quilts and knew i needed to make it.
for woods, it's a petal, for me, it's a seed pod.
i have a thing for pods. i still remember a shiny dark brown pod shaped like a dollar size pancake that i found and pocketed on a west african beach in the beginning of the end of the last millennium.
when i started to put these pods together, i imagined the seed being my truth, my authenticity. i imagined all the layers of the pod protecting my truth from the outside world.
then i started to wonder why the truth needs so much protection.
one offs
7' x 2' • sold
48" x 36" • sold
circles • 3'3" x 9'3" • sold
connections • 2'4" x 6'
each one off has its own story. they don't belong to series (at least not yet). their meaning is up to you.
