Blog Hop

A friend, Paula Kovarik, asked me to take part in a blog hop. Her work is amazing, and you can see it here http://paulakovarik.com/. In her company I am just a toad stool. I was to post here October 11, but while I was relaxing in my deck chair, I had real work far from my mind. Now, back at the office, I am at the task. So, this is an unusual post for me here. Long, with commentary, multiple photos. I hope you can bear it. (above detail -- Time of Day: Coffee Break )

Also, I have tagged Judy Kirpich, a strong and creative artist, who will answer these same 4 questions sometime next week on her blog. Go visit there, and be prepared! Find her at http://unmultitasking.blogspot.com/

Here are my questions:
What am I working on?
How does my work differ from others of this genre?
Why do I do what I do?
How does my process work?

I'm not much public responses, so here goes.

I am working on a series "Time of Day." What intrigues me is how we move through the day, what starts and stops the day, how we treat the day's segments, and how these punctuations tick the passage of time. Making these "times" into imagery is a different matter. Talk is descriptive, but translating into color, pattern, line, is another matter. I find this challenge good sport. (below-- Time of Day: Happy Hour)

Why do I do what I do? I construct imagery mainly in two dimensions using fiber. I would paint, and painting is certainly part of the preparation of the surface design, but the ability to construct, reform, change dimensions, reconfigure, enables me to break the constraints of the confines of stretched canvas. The act of building is the major reason I work in fiber (mostly fabric).

My process often starts with a collage or fabric/paper sketch. I am not a fan of line drawings, (okay, the above line drawing is the sketch for Time of Day: Dusk / Dawn) as they don't provide me with enough information on shape and mass. I piece spontaneously, combining fabric to see relationships that would not occur had I not joined them randomly in no plan. I love a challenge, and a theme always gives me visualizations to use. (below is Time of Day: Dusk/Dawn)

There are thousands of quilt artists. And often I see work that resembles mine, just a bit. But my work differs in its strength of form and abstraction. Oddly enough, I don't see my style has changed much since I first started working in fabric in 1981. It is still abstract, color rich, and large scale.

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